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Robert Frank, City Editor frank@heraldnet.com

The Legion knows about deployments

By Julie Muhlstein
Herald Columnist

Eva Wallace knows she was lucky. Her husband didn't go to war. When his service in the U.S. Coast Guard took him away, it was usually for weeks, not months or years.

"He did have deployments of six to eight weeks," said Wallace, whose husband, Bob, spent part of his Coast Guard tenure in Alaska. "As career military wives, we understand the impact to families. We know what they're going through."

At 66, the Snohomish woman is retirement age. Even so, her calendar is packed with trips and meetings. Since last July, Wallace has been Washington state president of the American Legion Auxiliary. The group has about 10,000 members statewide, and nearly a million around the country.

On March 5, Wallace was in Olympia to meet at the governor's mansion with Mike Gregoire, a Vietnam veteran and husband of Gov. Chris Gregoire, and Jan Pulvermacher-Ryan, national president of the American Legion Auxiliary. They also toured the Fort Lewis Warrior Transition Unit, which serves wounded soldiers.

As state president, Wallace has met with members of Congress, and works closely with the state Department of Veterans Affairs. Although Wallace and her husband live near Snohomish, they also spend time in Sequim and are involved there with American Legion Post 62.

The auxiliary has a long history and a wide reach. Started in 1919 to assist the American Legion, the group goes beyond its traditional role. The focus now is threefold: veterans and military families, community involvement and helping kids learn leadership.

The American Legion Auxiliary sponsors Girls State, a program that sends high school girls to Central Washington University each summer for mock government experience.

At the American Legion Henry M. "Scoop" Jackson Post 6 in Everett, auxiliary member Jolene Brown works long hours as a cook. She is also a longtime Girls State organizer, working with area high schools to select participants.

"At Girls State, they form cities, counties and elect a state government, from the governor on down. We've had three 'U.S. Senators' out of Cascade High School over the years. They go on to Washington, D.C., for Girls Nation," said Brown, 68. Her husband, George, served in the Army in Korea and is a commander of the American Legion post at 1212 California St.

The Browns' granddaughter, Celine Brown, a 13-year-old at Gateway Middle School, is in the organization's junior auxiliary. "They learn so much -- respect for the military, respect for government, good manners," Jolene Brown said of kids involved in American Legion youth programs.

"The top priority is veterans and their families," said Brown, adding that many veterans stop by the Everett post seeking information about benefits. "The paperwork they have to fill out can be a nightmare," she said.

Auxiliary members are stepping up to help with the paperwork maze, said Alfie Alvarado, assistant director of the state Department of Veterans Affairs. The aim is to expand the network of trained service officers who help veterans and their families obtain benefits.

"We started doing this about two years ago, hooking up with organizations," Alvarado said. "The point-person is Eva Wallace. With the American Legion, she's definitely the mover and shaker. They do Girls State and volunteer at hospitals. She's gotten people inspired and interested in this other dimension."

Already, the state has trained an American Legion Auxiliary member as a full service officer in Eastern Washington. "This lengthens our arms of service to rural communities," Alvarado said. Veterans in need range from elderly men who fought in World War II to soldiers now returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.

"Eva has a platform to spread the word," Alvarado said. "Making sure veterans are taken care of, that's the core mission."

It's been a long time since Bob Wallace was away serving his country. His wife hasn't forgotten. "If you've been through it, you know," Eva Wallace said.



Columnist Julie Muhlstein: 425-339-3460 or muhlstein@heraldnet.com.