Female Veterans visit Palmer Pioneer Home in milestone visit

Veteran residents at the Pioneer Home in Palmer were transported back to an era long gone, April 4, as ladies-veterans themselves-visited the home, dressed in 1940s attire, bringing with them a little blast from the past to boost morale for their fellow Veterans.

It was part of the ‘Pin-Ups for Vets’ 20th year, and also marking the 50th state on their 50-state tour to honor our Alaska Veterans.

“The concept has been to bring back WWII, to remind troops what they were fighting for, and boost morale,” says Gina Elisa, founder of ‘Pin-Ups for Vets,’ a non-profit that raises funds to improve Veterans' healthcare, donates funds to Veteran Administration (VA) hospitals for medical equipment and program expansion, improves quality of life for ill Veterans across the United States through personal visits to deliver gifts, promotes volunteerism at Veterans Hospitals, supports homeless Veterans with clothing and gifts delivered to shelters, boosts morale for military wives and female Veterans with makeovers, and boosts morale for deployed troops through delivery of care packages.

Elise says that the stories of under-funded Veterans’ healthcare programs and stories about our aging Veterans who lay in bed day after day, never receiving any visitors, along with the reports of severely injured troops during Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedoms served as her inspiration.

“The more I heard about the about our Wounded Warriors, the more I knew I needed to create something to bring in funds to support all of our hospitalized Veterans,” said Elise during a recent interview.

It was her need to continue serving and her love of the romance of those bygone eras - especially the World War II pin-up girls, whose photos and paintings boosted morale for our soldiers fighting overseas that inspired ‘Pin-ups for Vets.’

It started first with a nostalgic pin-up calendar created to help raise funds for hospitalized Veterans, with messages of appreciation from the donors. The calendars are also sent to deployed troops to help boost morale and to let them know that Americans back home are thinking of them.

“The ladies were an absolute blessing to have,” said Kim Foster, Activities coordinator for the Pioneer Home. She said that one of the residents commented that it was “amazing and honorable of them to come all the way to Alaska to visit our home.”

During the visit, the women spoke with the veterans, connecting with each one, making them feel seen and heard, and allowing them to share some of their stories.

“Their visit brought everyone together. Residents loved the clothes they wore as well; one commented that they were dressed in clothes from his era, and he really liked how fancy they looked. It was incredible to watch them pair up with residents that served in the same branch as them and share stories from different eras,” added Foster.

The visit also allows the women to continue serving in a very different way. Not only do the women, all veterans of the military, travel across the country to visit Veterans’ Homes, VA and military hospitals, all part of boosting morale and showing appreciation for Veterans across America.

“I found this group and it was perfect. It was a way that I could still be involved in my community, be with veterans,” says LeahAnn, a Marine Corps veteran. “It’s a very different duty, a sisterhood. It was amazing to go around, visit with the veterans and know we’ve brought a little joy to their day.”

Elise says the organization’s Ambassadors, have personally visited with over 20,000 Veterans at VA Hospitals, Military Hospitals and State Veterans Homes in 49 States over the past 2 decades to deliver gifts of appreciation to our Nation’s Heroes.

The visit last week marked the non-profit’s 50th state, right as the organization begins their 20th year, as they visited patients at the VA Hospital, Military Hospital and also make visits to our troops at JBER, the American Legion Spenard Post 28, capping it off with their visit at the Pioneer Home in Palmer.

“These ladies are doing “service after service”, giving back to their fellow brothers and sisters in arm,” says Elise.

The organization has received numerous commendations, including Congressional Recognition, and the “Beyond The Call” award at the National VFW Convention, and the troops have flown 11 flags over military bases and on missions in Iraq and Afghanistan in honor of the work they do to support our Nation's Heroes.

To learn more about ‘Pin-Ups for Vets,’ please visit www.pinupsforvets.com