NEW YORK–Major League Baseball announced this week the official launch of "Welcome Back Veterans," a campaign aimed at raising money for members of the Armed Forces who have returned home after serving our country overseas.
"Major League Baseball considers it both an obligation and a privilege to assist our troops in any way we can," said MLB president Bob DuPuy, himself a Vietnam veteran. "Welcome Back Veterans was created to help our brave men and women make a successful transition to civilian life when their service to their country has ended."
Fred Wikpon, New York Mets' chairman, leads the fundraising and awareness efforts. He cites a goal to raise $100 million in funds and said "we have a significant number of people who have already committed."
Several MLB players backed the cause, including Mets' David Wright and Yankees' Johnny Damon. Wright said in the news conference, "Because of these men and women, I get the opportunity to play a game and live in freedom. I hope we remember these veterans."
Damon echoed, "When it comes to supporting our troops, everyone in Major League Baseball is on the same team."
The initiatives will be highlighted by July 4th and September 11th ceremonies that will integrate veterans into Major League Baseball games. Home teams of the games played over the July 4th weekend plan to have ceremonies honoring veterans.
Veterans will be able to throw out first pitches and sign baseball cards for fans. The field and teams will be redecorated for this occasion, with bases, caps, and jerseys decked out with "Welcome Back Veterans" logos.
DuPuy stressed, "We ask that all Major League Baseball fans join us on the July 4th weekend and on Sept. 11th in this grand-scale effort to raise funds and bring awareness to this vital cause."
William Halstead, a staff sergeant in the Air Force and avid Mets fan, certainly appreciates the gesture. But even more the MLB's efforts, he is most thankful of coming back home—alive. "…you're not fighting a war. You're fighting to come home," he emphasized. "That's our war. To get through this."
For the soldiers who come home after their tours of duty, the transition is unfathomable.
"What's hard about reintegrating back into everyday civilian life is that it's not structured. Military life is very structured… To just have total freedom is a shellshock," recalled Meghan Meade, a staff sergeant in the Air National Guard.
Veterans who return from Iraq and Afghanistan face unique obstacles in returning to ordinary life. Young veterans will usually have trouble finding a job or returning back to school.
According to the July 2004 New England Journal of Medicine, one-third of all Iraq veterans and one-ninth of all Afghanistan veterans suffer from a mental disorder, whether it be Post Traumatic Stress Disorder or depression. The money will be used to help make the transition easier.
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