Good Morning and Welcome to MOT-Morning Open Thread
Several months back I stumbled upon the
Farmer Veteran Coalition (FVC), an organization mobilizing veterans to feed America. I was delighted to learn that my city, Jacksonville, Florida had a Veteran Farm/Farmer and by following that farm specifically and the FVC in general I am continually impressed.
At the link above you can see from the interactive map there are farms spanning our country. From Scio, Oregon's Dot Ranch which raises two of America's most threatened livestock breeds, the Navajo-Churro Sheep and the Mottled Java Chicken to Veterans Farm in Jacksonville, Florida featuring the Red White and BLUEberry. Then there is Primal Pastures in Temecula, California raising free range poultry to Pembroke Maine's Liberty's Ledge Farm which is busy raising cattle, horses, goats, sheep, rabbits, ducks, chickens, dogs, cats and kids.
There are many wonderful success stories within this outstanding outreach program, but today I want to focus on Veterans Farm in Jacksonville and founder Adam Burke - a Purple Heart recipient, 2011 "Good Person of the Year" and a recipient of a 2012 Presidential Citizens Medal and friends he's just getting warmed up!
Adam Burke grew up in the tiny town of Webster, Florida - population 805. His family owned and operated a large blueberry farm there and Adam wasted no time at all getting away from the small town life, enlisting immediately after high school graduation at age 17 into the Army - Infantry.
Burke deployed on support missions all over the middle east. Oman, Qatar, Baharain, Turkey, Kuwait and finally, in 2003 he deployed for a 15 month mission to Iraq. He was 26 years old, a Sergeant and newly married to a beautiful pediatric nurse named Michele.
Like so many others, Adam learned to grind it out, day after day until it was May of 2004 and two weeks out from the end of his deployment. His unit was clearing a village thought to be a stronghold for insurgents when one of his guys was hit by sniper fire. Sgt Burke ran to pull him to the safety of cover and a mortar bomb knocked him from his feet while shrapnel ripped into his legs and head.
I lay in the dirt, helpless, bombs exploding around me, my men returning fire. All I could think of was Michele, my family and how desperately I wanted to see them again. Lord, can you see me? If you get me home, I promise I’ll make my life worth saving. Then I passed out.
After months in hospitals, knowing his military career was over and fighting blinding headaches, memory and other cognitive problems as well as balance issues that required he walk with a cane, Adam was discharged with a diagnosis of traumatic brain injury and PTSD - and a purple heart.
Burke earned a degree in business and began working in an office setting. He was miserable and riddled with anxiety, sometimes dwelling on whether it would have been better if he'd died on that dusty street in Iraq. Adam's family could see his suffering and offered him a small patch of land on the family farm in Webster. Wife, Michele convinced him that "farming's in your blood" and that the opportunity was well worth a try.
Going with what he knew best, blueberries, Adam began to research organic farming methods and found his brain functioning in ways it had not since his injury. With help and guidance from Farmer Veteran Coalition (FVC) Burke bought his first bushes and his disability pay went towards an irrigation system.
Finally, the first full day of farm work arrived and with the smell of mother earth, the sounds of birds chirping and feel of a breeze across his sweat soaked back came a rush of memories for Adam. He described that moment as peaceful and almost holy. With no stresses, pressure, or worries Adam realized that for the first time since he was wounded his heart wasn't pounding and his mind wasn't racing. That calm didn't leave him all day.
In a short time Burke's coordination and balance had marked improvement and he no longer needed a cane when walking. He was comfortable around people again, his thinking and memory was sharper and his anxiety had subsided.
All the while these wonderful physical changes were taking place, Adam had been frantically searching for sponsorship. He reckons he contacted around a thousand non profits and corporations - all said "no", until he connected with Work Vessels For Veterans, an all-volunteer movement assisting returning veterans in beginning their civilian careers or educational pursuits by acquiring and distributing the necessary start-up tools. With their assistance he found an 8 acre plot of land in Jacksonville and began Veterans Farm.
Knowing that the jobless rate for returning vets was around 10% and that many vets were wounded physically, mentally and emotionally as he had been, Burke instituted a 6 month fellowship program on his farm that helps reintegrate those vets back into society through horticulture therapy. Through the program vets learn to grow organic blueberries and vegetables as well as raise tilapia and bees. Towards the end of the program Burke connects them with the Farmer's Veteran Coalition for assistance in getting loans and other resources needed to establish their own farm or in obtaining permanent employment at a large farm. Burke's fellowship program allows him to lend his vets to other farms for gleaning fruits and vegtables for Second Harvest as they did last December at KYV Farms as a part of Second Harvest's 2012-13 citrus gleaning season. And oh, did I mention that Veteran's Farm is 100% handicap accessible - Adam has seen to it that nothing stands in the way of success for any vet with any kind of disability.
It is no wonder that Adam was a 2012 Presidential Citizens Medal recipient:
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Adam was awarded the 2011 Good Person of the Year Award from The Good People Fund
Work Vessels for Veterans awarded Burke the Star of Honor.
Hope Grows Here - October 2011 Parade Magazine article featuring Adam Burke
A Harvest of Hope for Veterans - Adam Burke's story as it appeared in Guideposts Magazine
At Veterans Farm each Red White and BLUEberry plant has a dog tag hanging from it with a veteran's name dedicated to it. Some are veterans who have worked on the farm and some are fallen veterans. I cannot help but be reminded of the closing of the film "Saving Private Ryan" and think back to the promise Adam made "If you get me home, I promise I’ll make my life worth saving" and think, you're earning it. Sgt Adam Burke, you are earning it.