SUBMITTED PHOTO
Hart poses while stationed in the Vietnam War.
By Jill Whalen (Staff Writer)
Published: August 16, 2010
Rick Hart never met Frank Tate. And he probably never will, either.
The two live almost 540 miles from each other. Hart is in Monroe, Ohio; Tate lives in Drums.
Yet Hart, who served as a U.S. Marine during the Vietnam War just as Tate did, decided to hold a fundraiser to help Tate battle the liver disease that is claiming his life.
"I've been helping veterans for a long time," Hart said. But Tate's story really hit a nerve.
Hart learned of Tate's failing health from a Times-Shamrock newspapers article several days ago. Tate, 59, and a few of his doctors believe his cirrhosis is directly linked to his exposure to Agent Orange in Vietnam. The Department of Veterans Affairs, however, does not recognize the toxic chemical as a cause for cirrhosis. And doctors won't attempt a liver transplant, saying the procedure would be too risky since Tate's health is failing.
"I always think that like Frank, that could be me with the Agent Orange. When we were in Vietnam, they told us very little. The less we were told, I guess they thought the better. As a matter of fact, you didn't know what was going on," Hart said.
Like Tate, Hart saw maps of where Agent Orange was used to defoliate forests in Vietnam to expose the enemy.
"I had it dumped on me, too. That could be me. We might have eaten the same dirt," Hart said. "Who would do anything to help me if I was in Frank's situation? Probably nobody. I'm looking at holding this fundraiser as an opportunity to help somebody. It's like they say, what comes around goes around."
Hart sent an e-mail to Tate, and Tate contacted him. When Hart told him his intentions to hold a fundraiser, Tate gave his blessing.
"All he is saying is, 'thank you, thank you, thank you,'" Hart said.
Hart will hold the fundraiser Saturday at his rural home. It will run from noon to midnight, and feature food, drinks and lots of games to play.
Tate's wife, Carol, said she is happy someone is willing to help.
"(Hart) said he's getting things rolling," she said.
Hart printed flyers, and has distributed more than 150 of them so far. He plans to canvass his town, and drop an invitation off at every home displaying a U.S. flag. He also will post notices at a nearby veterans' museum and walk around his neighborhood to personally invite people to his basement club.
The fundraiser will be held in Hart's basement, an area he outfitted with a bar, two jukeboxes, pinball machines and other fun stuff a few years ago after he realized he was one of the older patrons of a sports bar near his home.
"I started my own NCO club," he laughed.
While the "club" started as a fun place for Hart to hang out, it is now opened frequently to raise funds for men and women in uniform. With the proceeds, Hart and his wife, Linda Lou, who was a Navy nurse in the Vietnam War, send special packages to those serving overseas. They've sent coffee, food, snacks, hand-held radios, DVD players, T-shirts from a Hooters restaurant - and anything else the soldiers request.
"It's all about boosting morale," Hart said.
They also open their home regularly to traveling members of the military on active duty. There's a guest room set aside for the soldiers, and the game room is open to them and any other service personnel visiting the area.
"For a few of them, it was the last fun time they had before they went to Iraq because some of them are no longer here," Hart said. A photo of an Army staff sergeant who visited the Harts hangs on one of the walls, paying tribute to the man who died from injuries suffered when his vehicle hit a roadside bomb. Photographs of other visitors also line the walls, as do military-themed items, movie posters, album covers and mannequins.
"I'll do whatever I can to help the veterans. I can't help everybody, but I can help one person," Hart said.
jwhalen@standardspeaker.com, 570-455-3636
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Also See: Vietnam veteran running out of options
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