Post 107 in Hoboken conducted a 2-mile Ruck the River to support a nonprofit that helps Afghan allies who fought alongside U.S. servicemembers in Iraq and Afghanistan with housing, food and medicine as they wait to immigrate to the U.S.
American Legion Post 107 in Hoboken, N.J., held its second annual Ruck the River on Sept. 28 to support Afghan allies. The two-mile ruck along the Hudson River waterfront involved members of Post 107, post-9/11 veterans, Afghanistan families who supported American servicemembers during the war and community members. Donations raised for the ruck benefited Badger 6, a nonprofit that provides humanitarian assistance to the families of the Afghan Cavalry who fought alongside CIA Team Alpha and the U.S. Army’s Green Berets of ODA 595.
Josh Lees, a Post 107 member and Army veteran of the Iraq War who organized the ruck, said that Badger 6 is currently working with about 30 Afghanistan families who are trying to get to America. The nonprofit supports them with safe housing, food and medicine as they wait in limbo. Several of the Afghan families that Badger 6 has helped bring to the States have shared their stories at Post 107.
“We brought them into the post, treated them and made them feel like they're members and equal to us,” said Lees, who added that post members are helping Afghan families learn English and how to read street signs. “That's what we do. We try to help them with all those little things, but language is a very important one and we have a nice facility here (to provide weekly lessons).”
Providing Afghan allies with resources such as learning the English language is an opportunity that any American Legion post can support, Lees said. “They're going to be coming to all parts of this country and there's not a lot of people out there to help them, yet somehow, they were there to help us from the battlefield,” he said. “So I couldn't see a more important mission for the men and women of The American Legion to kind of return the favor, because as scared as the Americans and the coalition forces were when they set foot on Afghan soil, so are they equally in a different way. They need the help.”
Hoboken is across the river from Manhattan and Lees, who is from New Jersey, recalls witnessing the aftermath of the events on Sept. 11, 2001. Less than two years later, he joined the U.S. Army and deployed to Iraq. Following his military service, Lees looked to other veterans when he needed help and that has transitioned to him helping those who came to America’s aid in Iraq and Afghanistan by being a board member for Badger 6.
“You have a lot of men and women that come back from war that have a lot of resentment and tough feelings to the way some of these wars ended. And this (helping Afghan allies) is a good way for them to heal in that process as well because they get to do it with folks that were just as affected, just in a different way,” he said. “And The American Legion and the Afghans that are coming to America in a way are very symbiotic because just like soldiers and airmen that come home from war, they struggle to find their footing, but at least they know the culture. At least they know the language. At least they know enough about where they came from to finally reconnect back into those communities. But these folks don't have that.”
- Community