VFW Posts team up to honor World War II Vet

When Charlie Brown, commander of St. Juvin Post 1336 Veterans of Foreign Wars, read about Arkansas Senator John Boozman honoring 101-year-old World War II vet, Navy Chief Hospital Corpsman Mable Thomsen, he presented her name to the members of the local Post for inclusion in its Blankets for Vets program.
Thomsen, who lives at the Arkansas Veteran's Home in Fayetteville, Arkansas, was approved and Brown contacted Anita Deason, Boozman's military and veteran's liaison for more information about Thomsen. As it turns out, her service also continued through the Korean and Vietnam Wars.  
Deason  agreed to coordinate a presentation to Thomsen. At Brown’s request for a VFW member to do the actual presentation, Eugene Kovach, the adjutant/quartermaster of Archibald Yell—Jack Tidball Post 2722 in West Fork, Arkansas was contacted.  Kovach, a retired Army SFC, agreed to help honor Thomsen's service to our country.
 On June 15 it all came together and Thomsen received her personalized tapestry throw featuring the Navy logo. Her niece, Suzy Fehlig, Senator Boozman, representatives from Senator Tom Cotton's and Congressman Steve Womack's offices along with LTC (Ret) Buster McCall, administrator of the Arkansas Veterans Home in Fayetteville and COL (Ret) Nate Todd, director of the Arkansas Department of Veterans Affairs attended the event.  
Thomsen also received a large bouquet of red, white, and blue flowers and veterans home residents attended a reception complete with a cake to commemorate her service to a grateful nation.
The  Post's Blankets for Vets program started in 2012 when, at Brown's wife's suggestion, the Post purchased the blankets for three of the Post's members who were suffering from serious medical issues.  The blankets, which are actually woven tapestry throws that feature a branch of service logo and the recipient's embroidered name, were so well received that the Post decided to expand the program.
Due to the cost the Post normally confines distribution to veterans from the local community or vets in assisted living and skilled care facilities in Wilmington, Dwight and Morris.  Vets in skilled care/assisted living environments receive their blankets during the Christmas season while other receive theirs throughout the year.
“We kind of lost count of how many we have presented but our best guess is somewhere between 380 and 390,” Brown said.
 Last year St. Juvin Post partnered with Streator Memorial Post 1492 to present the blanket to one of their members Hobart ‘Hoby’ Vandeventer who was stationed at Schofield Barracks, Territory of Hawaii on Dec. 7, 1941.  
“Hoby was a special case, like Chief Thomsen, you don't get to honor many Pearl Harbor survivors, or that many female vets who served during WWII, Korea and Vietnam, although we have presented the blankets to at least three local female WWII vets,” Brown said.
 Each blanket also has a custom label attached that reads “The members of St. Juvin Post 1336 Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States, Coal City, IL present this throw to you as a symbol of your service to a grateful nation.”