OperationsLZ is a group committed to making up for the treatment of Vietnam-era veterans when they first returned from service. The organization hosts free events for these veterans, during which members of the community are invited to come and thank the servicemembers. Brooke Anderson, a junior from West Hancock High School in Britt, Iowa, participated in the event. Anderson and her boyfriend volunteered to hand out the commemorative coins and a pins given to each veteran.
The pins have a special design on them to show gratitude for their service.
"The heart shows our love for them," Anderson told Globe Gazette. "The crack in it shows how heartbroken the veterans were because people didn't respect them after the war. The Band-Aid shows we're finally recognizing them and respecting them."
At the OperationsLZ event in August, Anderson met a Vietnam veteran named Duane Thomas. Thomas told the news source that he had been sitting alone for most of the event when Anderson and her boyfriend came up to him and asked for a photograph with him. He said their kindness stayed with him. After the event, he continued to search for the pair so he could stay in contact with them.
Thanks to the help of a local newspaper, they were reunited on Oct. 25. Anderson told Globe Gazette that they were now like family.