SAORE Foundation
(Seawolves Agent Orange Relief Effort Foundation)
SAORE Foundation(Seawolves Agent Orange Relief Effort Foundation)
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Vietnam Visit 2006
In March 2006, Jerry Wages, retired Navy captain, and his friend Jim McCready, medical doctor from Panama City, Florida traveled to Vietnam on a SAORE Foundation mercy mission. Jerry had served in Vietnam more than 35 years ago as the Senior Naval Advisor in the jungle area located south of Saigon called the Rung Sat Special Zone.
He had been selected for this position by the Commander of Naval Forces in Vietnam, Admiral Elmo Zumwalt Jr, who would later become the Chief of Naval Operations. While stationed there for a fifteen month tour of duty he flew on many combat missions with Helicopter Attack (Light) Squadron Three, earning numerous medals of distinction including the Silver Star and also received the Purple Heart.
Jerry felt that the humanitarian work of the foundation to be so compelling that he set out to visit
the southernmost province of Camau and the capital of Hanoi to provide humanitarian relief as well as follow up on projects underway. He had always wanted to return to Vietnam to visit the people with whom he had once been at war as he had never felt any personal animosity towards them nor towards the brave citizens who had always tried to remain on the sidelines.
Although traveling first class and staying at a Five-Star hotel, Jerry and Jim took a 22 hour round trip ride on a crowded minibus to one of the poorest villages in the southern province. Going along for the ride to attend the first graduation ceremony of seamstresses from the new training facility at the Ao Kho Parish Church were the seamstresses of a more established sewing school located in an historic church in Ho Chi Minh City (Jerry gave $20.00 to each of the graduates, whose future earnings of 25 cents per hour will enable them to rise from poverty.). Jerry also observed the proud and humble nature of the inhabitants of the village and discovered that even the young people suffering from Agent Orange after-effects showed neither animosity nor disrespect for the American visitors.
The photos taken during this trip show Jerry and Jim teaching a class of awe struck pre-school children how to use their first toothbrushes. Jerry also distributed SAORE Foundation funds and vitamins for the children's nutritional needs. Jim also performed dozens of medical examinations on these youngsters and others he encountered during their river trip to visit some small homes in the mosquito ridden mangrove areas. In addition, Jerry was able to pay a visit to the home of twelve year old Tran Trong Trai, who had his heart repaired courtesy of the SAORE Foundation.
While in Ho Chi Minh City, Jerry and Jim visited the Institute Du Coeur to thank the staff for their help coordinate Trai’s surgery. The last segment of the journey took the pair of friends to visit the hospital and staff of Hanoi’s Viet Duc University Hospital, which is to be the future recipient of SAORE Foundation’s donation of a cardiac suite of equipment. |
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SAORE Foundation is a charitable organization, raising funds for physically disabled, mentally handicapped, needy and poor in Vietnam. The concept of this "Heart to Heart Mission" was born as a project to heal and improve relations between the United States and Vietnam. One hundred percent, (100%), of funds are used for carefully screened and selected humanitarian needs. There are NO salaries paid and administrative costs are minuscule or absorbed by SAORE Foundation volunteers.
Funds utilized by SAORE Foundation are distributed directly to the end users via non-governmental contacts or agencies. Neither U S nor Vietnam governmental elements are in the distribution nor utilization chain
SAORE Foundation is not affiliated with nor a part of the US Navy Seawolf Association Send mail to
webmaster@SAOREF.Org with
questions or comments about this web site.
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