USO starts with you

Ever have the naked dream? The one where everybody is fully dressed and for some inexplicable reason you're standing there with your modesty flapping in the breeze?

That's the way I felt Saturday night. I was decked out in my best rented clothes, but when I looked at the dazzling people around me, I felt like the valet parking guy.

There were stars everywhere. The real kind, not the Hollywood version. There were stars on the shoulders of generals and stars on the chests of heroes. Stars earned with courage, dedication and honor.

I think my rented shoes were made of plastic.

The occasion was the annual United Service Organizations salute to North Carolina's military men and women.

It has been two years since the USO opened the lounge at Raleigh-Durham International Airport. They expected to serve a thousand traveling military men and women a month, but that is not quite the way things have worked out.

More than 2,500 service people and their families visit the USO each month now. What was supposed to be a laid-back lounge with a few easy chairs and a TV is bustling 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The staff feeds hungry troops and gives young military families a place to rest or change a baby's diaper. It is a safe place for moms and dads to say goodbye and for spouses to share a few quiet moments before parting.

The shindig Saturday night was to thank the volunteers who keep the doors open and welcoming smiles firmly in place. It was to thank the companies that donate money and supplies. And it was to thank you, too.

Yes, you. In the past two years, the folks who read this column have donated more than $50,000 to the USO. You have encouraged your companies to pitch in. Many of the volunteers who work there read it about here. It simply would not have happened without your help.

Every year, the USO salutes one member of each branch of the military for service to their country and their comrades.

People like Army Staff Sgt. Denice Malave from Fort Bragg, a logistics expert wounded in an ambush last year. And Marine Sgt. Thomas Jefferson from Camp Lejeune, who led more than 300 mounted combat patrols in Iraq. And Air Force Tech. Sgt. Judith Fields, who makes sure her troops are properly trained and equipped for the work at hand. National Guard Spc. Darius Jenkins is his unit's Soldier of the Year.

Then there is Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Stephen McCloskey, a medical corpsman credited with saving the lives of his Marine buddies after an ambush in Iraq. What they did not know was that McCloskey was seriously wounded himself but wouldn't accept treatment until he had taken care of them.

Coast Guard Petty Officer 2nd Class Joshua Mitcheltree hung out of a helicopter and saved 137 people in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

These are the kind of people the USO serves every day.

And you are the kind of people whose donations and volunteer time make it possible. The USO could use more money and more help, especially on the overnight shift. Call 840-0941 or write to P.O. Box 91443, Raleigh, NC 27675 if you can help. I told them they would hear from you.