COURTESY ALTON SANDERS
Alton Sanders
COURTESY OF ALTON SANDERS
Workers load donated materials for those affected by Maui’s wildfires at Foreign War Veterans Booth 3850.
COURTESY OF ALTON SANDERS
Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 3850.
When the Maui wildfire broke out last summer, veterans’ organizations were the ones stepping up and helping the community.
Working out of Foreign Wars Veterans Post 3850, a dilapidated waterfront complex in Kihei dating back to World War II, veterans from all over the islands traveled to Maui to distribute checks to other veterans and also toiletries, clothing, food, and other supplies. . the public.
Now, the local VFW commander hopes that Post 3850, which includes a wooden building named after Maui veteran Paul Kenolio and several other constructions near Uluniu Road, can be reborn as a gathering place, just for veterans, but for the entire community.
“What’s happening now is that the network is being wasted because they haven’t been able to utilize the space,” said Alton Sanders, commander of Post 3850.
Just a few years ago, the assets were rented out and used for pancake breakfasts, parties and other events, Sanders said. But after a noisy luau, a formal complaint was filed with the county, resulting in the location of several code violations on the assets. The group’s activities were banned just before the COVID-19 pandemic broke out.
“They had installed an imu (underground furnace) pit and it was against code,” Sanders said. “There was news that other people were taking turtles and all the parked cars were affecting the neighbors. . . They were absolutely under control.
Sanders has now met with network and county officials to implement regulations that will prevent the disruptions from happening again. He hopes the network’s activities can return to the site and would like to set up amenities such as a gym for veterans to train.
The chain showed its support, he said, by donating $19,000 in money to the post office after the fire. “The neighbors kept us afloat,” he said.
This may simply be due in part to the goodwill generated in the aftermath of the fire, when veteran teams from across the country immediately began sending clothing, food, and other materials to the islands, as well as donations of money for veterans.
“There were tons of supplies, in tons by weight,” said Chelsea Mack, an Iraq war veteran and now VFW state public affairs officer. “Swimwear, blankets, toilet paper, hygiene products,” all made to have on hand. the chain for free. The publication also hosted a free Thanksgiving dinner for the chain.
Honolulu-based VFW officials have traveled to Maui four times since the update to distribute checks to veterans, helping them update records lost in the update, making sure they had access to physical care and addressing other concerns, Mack said. “We were able to collaborate with veterans at a point that perhaps would not have been imaginable without the update,” he said.
Mack, a bona fide real estate agent, also heard from Maui veterans whom he had approached through others looking to buy their homes, saying that “seven out of 10 people I spoke to” had been solicited. It’s like loan sharks calling them out, intimidating them into thinking that their assets are insignificant and that they would get them a very smart deal,” he said.
She said it has been an emotional experience meeting veterans who survived the fire.
“I’ve never cried like that in public in my life,” Mack said. “Just sitting there and listening to stories that are so reassuring to those veterans, like the stories of wasting his wife and being 85 years old. “
Sanders said he met a veteran who lost his home in the Lahaina fireplace in 2018, but lost it again. Other horror stories come with a veteran “who lost his wife in the fireplace and ended up cutting off his benefits because they thought he was dead,” he said.
For those in need, the VFW has distributed checks, in increments of $1,000, but some of the hardest hit survivors have earned up to $10,000, Sanders said. So far, about $300,000 total has gone to Maui veterans, he said.
Mack said it is important to remember that the crisis on Maui “is not over,” noting that federal programs, while providing aid at the moment, will eventually end.
“We want support. We want supplies. We want infrastructure. Transitional housing is huge,” he said. People want to care and stay passionate. She wants to stay alive in their hearts so that they have the compassion to donate and give.
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