Newhaven Court at Clearview ‘Dog Tag Project’ honors Veterans

BUTLER, Pa. - Nov. 6, 2014 - PRLog -- Newhaven Court at Clearview annually recognizes the 20 veterans who reside at the senior living community.

This year, the list of honorees has nearly quadrupled, thanks to what has been labeled the “Dog Tag Project.”

“What started out as something simple has evolved into something bigger,” said Don Boardman, Environmental Services Director at Newhaven Court at Clearview, himself a veteran who served in Operation Desert Storm. “Instead of just putting the names of the veterans in our community, we decided to try to recognize as many people as possible, including our residents and staff’s family who served in all wars. The best representation is the dog tag.”

The staff, residents and their family members participated by filling out dog tags listing the names of veterans.

“I’m going all the way back to the Revolutionary War because I do a lot of genealogy,” said Kathy Roudybush, Activities Director at Newhaven Court at Clearview. “There are 75 dog tags. That’s from residents, family, staff. We’re opening it up to everybody. There are a lot of tags from World War II and to the present.”

The Dog Tag Project will highlight a week of Veterans Day-related activities at Newhaven Court at Clearview.

“The response has been greater than I ever expected,” Boardman said. “The intent was to recognize the veterans and for people to recognize their own family history and remember their family. A way of remembering is to think of that name. Then they write it down and it’s in everybody’s mind.”

The project has significance to Boardman. He served in Desert Storm, while his father served in Vietnam, and one of his grandfathers served in World War II and the other in World War I.

“One of the girls who filled out a dog tag did some research,” Boardman said. “She said she found out something really interesting. Her grandfather went MIA on June 3, 1969 when his ship was struck by an Australian aircraft carrier during an anti-submarine exercise.”

Boardman said 74 sailors on the USS Frank E. Evans lost their lives in the ship-to-ship accident and that an effort to have those names added to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall in Washington, D.C., is ongoing.

“She said, ‘I finally got to know a very interesting part of my history,’” Boardman said.

Among the long list of activities included during Newhaven Court at Clearview’s Veterans week schedule are: A luncheon to honor the Veterans; a Price is Right game with “C-rations” as prizes; a list of military-related inventions that changed the world; a program to honor the Women of World War II; music from the World War II era; a Veterans Day Social; stories from the home front; and the special reading of the Dog Tags.

“I’m the biggest fan of the veterans,” Roudybush said. “I’m so grateful for everything they’ve done for us. We want to honor them every way we can.”