Today I will be going to West Lawn Memorial Park to sign papers that will allow the body of Hollis Lee Williams to be cremated as a pauper, then interred in a military cemetery. No family member will be present. I will probably be given an opportunity to see H for the last time. This is tragic – beyond belief – until five minutes ago. Thanks to Elks Society Adopt a Veteran Program, I will now able to say this as I behold my Veteran-Son for the last time;
“In you, I am well pleased.”
My Veteran-Son will never be that alone again. His family is coming for him. We will be there by his side. I am the foster-father of Hollis’s extended family who have all adopted him in their hearts, and have done much to put and end to his homelessness. H will not go out of this world as the Unfamilied Soldier. Hollis is known to many. We will long have a wonderous place in our hearts for him. We are his family!
I now understand Hollis saw me as a father figure. When I scolded him, got on his case – for his own good of course – he bid me not stop trying. After he got his home I told him he need not hang out with those riff-raff anymore – especially when it is cold outside. I gave H four coats. I even called up a tobacco store and told them not to sell anymore cigarettes to Hollis – my son!
I will be receiving official adoption papers in the mail. I will include H in my genealogy.
A memorial for Hollis will be held on Sunday, March 17th. at the Campbell’s Senior Center located on 155 High Street, Eugene Oregon, at 1:30 P.M.
Jon Presco
“I will not leave you as orphans in the world.”
Jesus
Adopt-a-Veteran Program
If you’ve ever been hospitalized, you know the loneliness and depression you can experience. Think how tough it must be for hospitalized veterans, especially those who are far from home or have no family. With that thought in mind, George Schwarz of Clawson-Troy, Michigan, Lodge devised a simple yet effective solution in 1980: the Adopt-a-Veteran program.
His idea proved so successful that the National Veterans Service Commission picked it up in 1983. Last year, Lodges across the nation adopted 103,000 veterans, up 16,000 from the previous year. The Elks visited with them on their birthdays and holidays and showered them with gifts and attention. They took those who could leave the medical centers out to dinner, and brought dinner to those who couldn’t. The Elks provided these men and women with comfort, companionship, cheer and understanding, and in the process–helped lift some of their loneliness.
There is no program that better illustrates our patriotism. The Adopt-a-Veteran Program is one in which every Lodge can, and should, participate. So, how can your Lodge get involved? This is how the program usually works:
1.The VAVS Representative (or chairman at a state facility) secures the names of veterans without family or friends nearby and forwards the list to the state National Veterans Service chairman.
2.The state chairman will divide the list among the Lodges in close proximity to the facility and forward the names to the appropriate district chairman.
3.The district chairman will determine how many veterans each Lodge wishes to adopt. He will then provide the Lodges with a like amount of names.
4.The Lodge should publish the names and birthdays of its adopted veterans in its bulletin each month and encourage members and their families to schedule visits. Gifts for the veteran should consist of personal-care items, reading material, games and similar items of nominal cost. Luncheons and dinners at a restaurant or the Lodge are also recommended.
The object of the Adopt-a-Veteran program is to take the place of family, to replace loneliness with hope and to let the veterans know we will never forget them. The state associations, districts and Lodges should use the means best suited to their particular situations to meet these objectives.
Rosamond Press 
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