Buddy Check 3.0: How an idea inspired The American Legion nationwide | The American Legion - The American Legion

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Mar 10, 2021 Mar 10, 2021

A conversation in the back of a car during a trip to Massachusetts in 2018 was the catalyst for what has become one of the most critical programs of The American Legion over the last year as the nation confronted the COVID-19 pandemic. And thanks to the efforts of Legionnaires across the nation, the program has blossomed at a time when many of America’s veterans have spent months isolated from others.

Since the outbreak of the coronavirus, members of The American Legion have made thousands of Buddy Checks on their fellow veterans. Whether by phone call, email, postcard, social media or safe in-person visits, those veterans have had reinforced to them that as both a local and national organization, The American Legion cares about their welfare.

As in “Lawrence of Arabia,” when T.E. Lawrence said "Big things have small beginnings,” the Buddy Check grew from a simple start, first as a part of then-American Legion National Commander Denise Rohan’s theme of “Family First” before transitioning to a nationwide program under National Commander Brett Reistad in 2019. Under current National Commander James W. “Bill” Oxford, Buddy Checks have become a vital component of The American Legion’s efforts to support others throughout the pandemic.

And as The American Legion approaches its 102nd birthday in the coming days, Oxford said the celebration is another opportunity to contact fellow veterans who might be in need of assistance. A new Buddy Check toolkit is now available to help members of The American Legion Family conduct the outreach services.

“More than year ago, a global pandemic gripped the world and forced many to isolate themselves for their own safety, including thousands of our fellow veterans,” Oxford said. “Knowing their brothers and sisters were alone, Legionnaires took to their phones and email – and in some cases via safe in-person visits – and, by the thousands, reached out to their comrades. Whether it was inquiring to see if there were any in need of assistance, or simply to let them know someone cared, these Buddy Checks made differences. I couldn’t be more proud of those efforts.

“As our American Legion birthday approaches, it’s a good time to reach out again. It’s the ideal opportunity to let those isolated veterans know that we are here for them now, and that we will be here for them when are through this pandemic. These Buddy Checks can make an impact far greater than we realize.”

The Inception. American Legion Marketing Commission Chairman Mike Rohan – also known as the husband of Past National Commander Denise Rohan – clearly remembers where Buddy Checks got their start, albeit without using the current nomenclature.

Denise had chosen the theme “Family First” for her year as national commander, and Mike remembered her tying a form of Buddy Checks into her messages “probably around December” of 2017. For Denise, a chance meeting with a Legionnaire whose wife had passed away tied her theme and outreach together.

“He and wife were very active – she in the Auxiliary and he in the Legion. They did everything together,” the past national commander said. “After she passed away, he sort of didn’t want to do anything anymore. He was telling me the fact that some Legionnaires came to his house and kind of made him come back to the Legion made the difference in his life. It really does come down to if you care about your family, you check on them. That kind of was the groundwork for it.

“If we really are an American Legion Family, then we care enough about each other to check up on them. That’s the message that as Family First comes out, that you have your personal family, but then you take care of each other as veterans and veterans’ families.”

It was in April of 2018 that a car ride in Massachusetts brought together National Commander Rohan, her husband/aide and Reistad, the leading candidate at the time for national commander. Sitting in the back of the care, Mike Rohan and Reistad struck up a conversation about Denise’s message of outreach and then the potential of taking it national. With the time in her tenure as national commander winding down came the realization that it would be difficult to get a national program up and running before the 2018 National Convention. Reistad took on the program and in January 2019 during the National Membership & Post Activities Committee meeting after a discussion, and a draft plan for the first national Buddy Check program was created.

Up and Running. Reistad made a call in the later winter of 2019 for American Legion posts, districts, counties and departments to coordinate teams and call Legionnaires and former members to see how they are doing, using what was termed “A National Week of Calling” leading up The American Legion’s 100th birthday as the timeframe to make the calls.

“It was a great year to do it,” Reistad said. “When you look back at the history of The American Legion, you could see that the whole concept of The American Legion was about the comradeship: ‘To consecrate and sanctify our comradeship by our devotion to mutual helpfulness.’ What could be better mutual helpfulness than reaching out to our members, our buddies, our fellow veterans and do a wellness check with them?”

Legionnaires ran with the idea. The Department of Colorado sent out an email to everyone in the headquarters post asking how members were doing and thanking them for their service and membership. One headquarters post member responded needing assistance with paying utilities. The Department of Colorado financially assisted the veteran through two department assistance funds and transferred his membership to a post near his home. The department also heard from a 93-year-old World War II veteran who just wanted to share his story, and another member replied simply thanking the department for checking in.

District 22 in San Diego, Calif., found veterans in need of food, transportation, pet-therapy visits or just home visits, all by making phone calls to hundreds of members. And from 3 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. March 13 and March 16, a group of volunteers from Buck-Dubiel Post 101 in Somers, Conn., got together to make phone calls to check on fellow members of Post 101, and other Legionnaires in the area who are members of the department headquarters post or who had allowed their membership to lapse.

Post 101 Public Affairs Director Sherri Marquis said the Buddy Check benefitted both sides of the phone calls. “It was an experience every Buddy Check team member thought was fulfilling and very much needed,” she said. “We learned of members who were in poor health, needed assistance with (Department of Veterans Affairs) benefits, (and) wanted to attend meetings but had no means of transportation, and were homebound and lonely and could use a visit/camaraderie.

“Some were unable to volunteer due to being caregivers or having demanding lives and were happy with contributing just by being a member, and others were grateful for the call, had questions about the Legion mission and asked what Post 101 was doing in the future in which they could be involved.”

Reistad heard similar success stories. “I started getting feedback from people once we began doing it who said, ‘This is better than I thought it would be. It’s more effective than I thought it’s going to be.’ We received feedback from people we called that were really in need, and we had the ability to be able to help them. I was elated that we got to do it during my year, but I was also cognizant of the fact not only are we helping our fellow veterans, but this works very well within the focus of our centennial.”

The initial effort was so successful that later in May 2019, The American Legion National Executive Committee passed Resolution 18, which called for Buddy Checks to be conducted at least twice a year: during The American Legion birthday and Veterans Day.

Ten months later, a greater need emerged.

“Built for Pandemic Relief.” As stay-at-home orders moved like falling dominoes across the nation in early spring 2020, The American Legion responded. By the end of March a national Buddy Check Toolkit geared specifically for conducting the program during the pandemic was made available. American Legion National Commander James W. “Bill” Oxford urged Legionnaires to use the program to stay in contact with those who were isolated.

He called it “an excellent opportunity for The American Legion to demonstrate its commitment to veterans serving veterans. During this crisis, I’m encouraging the entire American Legion Family to perform those Buddy Checks. Make the phone calls to older veterans. They’re most at-risk. Make sure they’re doing OK. But, it’s also an opportunity for your American Legion post to assist. That might mean going to the grocery store, picking up a prescription at the pharmacy or handling an errand that will allow the veteran to practice social distancing.

“The American Legion Buddy Check program is an important mission that requires our support. And this is perhaps the most critical time to perform on behalf of our comrades.”

American Legion Family members responded. And then some. Buddy Checks with a COVID-19 emphasis took place in American Legion departments throughout the nation, at the state, district and post levels. Phone calls, emails, post cards and – in some cases, safe in-person visits – ensured that thousands of veterans didn’t fall through the cracks.

• In North Carolina, Department Adjutant Randy Cash said in addition to telephone Buddy Checks, 30,000 e-mails went out to at-risk Legionnaires.

• In the pandemic’s first month, Department of Pennsylvania Legionnaire Leroy T. Lippi Jr. had made more than 430 Buddy Checks. The service officer at Robert H. Hoke Post 272 in Linglestown, Lippi developed a script for the phone calls; he’s made more than 1,600 since 2018 and now both his name and phone number are recognized before the recipient picks up the phone. “My main goal in all of my calls is to ensure upon them that if they need assistance in any way … that we are out there for them and for their needs,” Lippi said. “If we can provide the service, I’m going to do that.”

• By mid-April, American Legion Post 154 in Rathdrum, Idaho, had conducted more than 130 Buddy Checks. “One 84-year-old Legion member told us that he was having a difficult time getting to the grocery store,” Post 154 Finance and Legislative Officer Len Crosby reported. “We arranged for other Legion members to pick up a shopping list, do his shopping and return the groceries to his home. Additionally, our Legion has offered this service for both groceries and medications to other members and have also offered rides to medical appointments, if that was needed.”

• In Roxboro, N.C., Lester Blackwell American Legion Post 138 already had made Buddy Checks a regular part of the post’s activities, including spending Fridays visiting area veterans at their homes and assisted-living facilities. The post saw the need for Buddy Checks grow during the pandemic. “It’s really important to find out if they have any needs, how they’re doing,” Post 138 Chaplain Chris Talley said. “They’ve always been important, but it feels a bit more important now.”

• In Maryland, Joseph L. Davis American Legion Post 47 in Havre de Grace used social media to reach out to members, including the use of graphics such as “Because We Care About YOU” that urged any members needing assistance to call the post.

• American Legion Post 109 member Jennifer Havlick of Two Harbors, Minn., began leading nightly sessions on Zoom as her post developed an “enhanced Buddy Check” program that mobilized teams to help sheltering veterans in the community. “I thought, ‘Who would be more well-equipped to know and deal with our veterans who can’t leave home?’” she said. “I thought that some of these guys or girls are going to get to a point where they can’t leave home. What should we do to make sure – especially if they don’t have family – that we’re taking care of them? We want to make sure they have food ... (doing) something as easy as going to the pharmacy picking up meds for them, just so they don’t have to come out in the middle of this.”

• “Our most sacred responsibility is to look out for each other and our fellow veterans,” wrote Darren Dahlke, membership chairman for Post 6 in Stuttgart, Germany, in a Facebook message to his fellow Legionnaires during the early stages of the pandemic. “As a way to reach out to members and former members, I am sending out this message asking if we can check up on our fellow comrades. Please take the time to reach out ... reaching out, just to say hello can make the difference.”

• Woodland Hills, Calif., Legionnaires delivered groceries and over-the-counter medicine to socially distancing veterans found through Buddy Checks.

• Post 43 in Tullahoma, Tenn., worked with the Boy Scouts and Junior ROTC members to deliver food and supplies to veterans contacted through Buddy Checks there. “Our veterans and their spouses are very appreciative knowing that someone cares about their well-being and needs,” Post 43 Commander Alan Harris said. “It is, after all, why we, as an organization, exist.”

• Buddy Checks were a regular occurrence for American Legion Post 18 in Weehawken, N.J., through phone calls, text messages and social media or visiting members while observing proper safety protocols. “We’re making sure we’re checking in with our most vulnerable veterans, and trying to make sure they’re OK,” Past Post 18 Commander and current Hudson County Vice Commander Chris Page said. “Now, more than ever, due to social distancing, we want to make sure that our more vulnerable veterans aren’t being left too alone. We need to make sure they’re doing well both mentally and physically.”

• In Nevada, Spirit of Freedom Post 76 in Las Vegas began reaching out to its 850-plus members in December 2020, contacting nearly 800 of them. Post 76 Commander Tony Mascari said Post 76 Sergeant-at-Arms Richard Hoffer personally checked on more than 500 members on his own. “We took the national commander's directive to heart,” Mascari said. “So many are shut in right now. The majority of our membership … they’re staying in. They’re very concerned with what’s going on in the outside world. To have somebody call, just to ask, ‘How are you doing today and is there anything we can do for you?’ – it was really, really amazing to talk to some of our members. I don’t know that they’ve had a lot of that. They were grateful that somebody just called to say, ‘How’re you doing today?’ Through the calls, we were able to assist veterans who needed help, or (provide) information on how to get help, as well as assure them that their American Legion post was here to help and guide them through this most difficult time.”

• Alexandria, Va., Post 24 made a 2021 Buddy Check on World War II veteran H. Warden Foley, a 73-year member of The American Legion, that turned into a safe birthday surprise. Members of the post prepared in advance for this particular Buddy Check, signing cards and obtaining gifts, including a quilt from Quilts of Honor. Post Adjutant James Glassman said Post 24 makes monthly Buddy Check calls to 237 members who served in World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War. "They are very appreciative that someone is looking out for them," Glassman said.

“If ever a veterans-service program was built for pandemic relief, it’s the Buddy Check,” Oxford said in April 2020. “In communities large and small everywhere on the map, Buddy Checks are making big differences for veterans, their spouses and families. Hundreds of posts are reaching out in their local communities, especially to veterans whose age puts them at risk for infection. Legionnaires are using the phone, email and social media to safely find out how these veterans are doing and what we can do to help them. They might need something from the store or pharmacy. Sometimes, for a veteran who is alone and on orders to stay home, the most important thing is a phone call.”

Past National Commander Rohan experienced that while making Buddy Checks. “I started making those phone calls, and I talked to one person whose life, because of COVID, she was losing her business,” she said. “There was all kinds of stuff that was happening in her life. Her mom was sick. And she didn’t have anybody to talk to. She was making Buddy Checks on other people, but she was in pain herself. I think it made all the difference in the world to say, ‘Hey, it’s OK for you to be hurting, too. And you need to make sure your take care of yourself.’

“When somebody calls me, and they care enough to call me, it makes me think, ‘Hey, if nobody in the world cares about me, at least I know my friends, my veterans, know that I’m out here by myself, and I need somebody to talk to.”

The American Legion also was a part of a 2020 bipartisan push to gain passage of legislation directing VA to designate an annual “Buddy Check Week” for the purpose of outreach and education concerning peer wellness checks for veterans and other purposes.” Legislative action alerts were sent out to members of The American Legion, while a series of videos from the bill’s cosponsors was created to raise awareness and support for the measure. The 116th Congress ended without a vote on it; The American Legion Legislative Commission and staff in Washington are pushing for reintroduction of the Buddy Check Week bill in the 117th Congress.

“One of the things I’m impressed about it is the momentum of the program and the continuation of the program during this day,” Reistad said. “And to see us propose Buddy Checks in the form of legislation was not a thought at the time. But it certainly deserves a level of consideration, and I’m glad to see we’re going to do that.”

The Need Continues. As historic winter weather moved across the nation in February 2021, Oxford reminded Legionnaires of the need for Buddy Checks while many were stuck at home because of ice storms, sub-zero temperatures, loss of power and dozens of inches of snow. “Countless veterans are stuck in their homes,” wrote in an email message. “They may be facing dire situations due to the storm. They may need assistance with staying warm, getting food and water, or having a prescription delivered. That is why I am making this urgent appeal to you to immediately launch Buddy Checks in your areas. As veterans, we cannot let our buddies down, especially in such a critical time.”

But the need for Buddy Checks goes beyond times of natural disaster, pandemic or other catastrophes. At the 2018 Washington Conference, The American Legion’s Veterans Affairs & Rehabilitation Commission heard from VA National Director for Suicide Prevention Keita Franklin, who told the commission that of the then-20 veterans taking their lives daily, 14 were not enrolled in the VA health-care system. She said VA needed other organizations like The American Legion to help her department reach those veterans not using VA services.

Mike Rohan said The American Legion’s Buddy Checks can fulfill that mission. “Denise and I have dealt personally with two different suicides that involved servicemembers that we were part of their Family Readiness Group,” he said. “Both of them are unique cases … but both of them happened. And both of them happened because the people who committed suicide did not feel that they had a connection to the community any more.

“The American Legion, making that phone, gives them that connection. It gives them somebody that they may not even know or care about, or have anything to connect with, except that they picked up the phone and said, ‘How are you doing?’”

Connecting those veterans with VA services is critical. “If it’s a veteran, the most important (contact information) is VA,” Mike said. “It doesn’t make a difference how much money they make. Whether they’re in the system or not in the system, VA will take them if they call. The more people we can connect with VA, the better.”

For Mike, seeing how an idea that started under one national commander, was nurtured under another and advanced by a third during a global pandemic speaks to the value of the program. “Brett, every time I was in the room … where he was giving a speech after (the Buddy Check program started), he thanked me for giving him the idea,” he said. “He wasn’t afraid to take another commander’s idea, making it his, and running with it. I thought that was pretty cool.”

For Reistad, seeing a program that became national under his watch fill such an important role brings a lot of satisfaction. “It humbles me, having been the national commander when this was rolled out,” he said. “I’m absolutely heartened by the growth of this program. And I think once we started to see the good deeds that came from it, and the benefits of it, it made perfect sense that we move forward and create legislation to put more of a focus on it.

“It’s a necessary program. To promote it nationally, and let others participate in it and know about how successful it is to us, I think, is a great thing for our organization and a great thing for our veterans.”

If your post, district or department already has or is planning Buddy Check campaigns or one-time efforts, whether via the phone, email or in person while observing safety protocols, we want to hear about your efforts. Email sbrooks@legion.org to let us know what you’ve done or what you’ve got planned, and then share your efforts afterward on www.legiontown.org.

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