Photo By Spc. Elizabeth Hackbarth | U.S. Army Chaplain (Maj.) Josh White, deputy command chaplain for U.S. Army Central...... read more read more
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CAMP ARIFJAN, KUWAIT -- Thanks to the generous time, money and talent of the nonprofit organization, Hearts to Heroes, Soldiers at Camp Arifjan, Kuwait, are able to learn and play the guitar while on deployment.
Hearts to Heroes is an organization that donates guitars and other stringed instruments to deployed troops.
With the help of a few skilled luthiers, people who make and repair stringed instruments, Hearts to Heroes is able to build and fix donated guitars that then get sent to overseas Soldiers for free.
“If it were not for them, we wouldn't be able to do the guitar program,” said Myra Foskey, CEO of Hearts to Heroes. “They help us out so much.”
“We’ve already sent out 269 instruments,” said Foskey. “We’re in the process of trying to get more guitars in, so the next one that we ship out will be 270.”
Chaplain (Maj.) Josh White, deputy command chaplain for U.S. Army Central Forward at Camp Arifjan, Kuwait, recently received guitar #263 from the nonprofit.
“I sent them an email requesting a guitar, told them who I was, and what I did,” said White. “[They] contacted me back, and that’s it. You just ask, and they send. I actually got it much more quickly than I expected.”
The acoustic guitar that White received was a Fender guitar with a solid wood top and a truss rod that allows one to make easy adjustments.
“This is a really good mid-range guitar. We’re looking at, with shipping, probably $500 to $600 that they’ve sent to me for free.”
The gift also came with several accessories.
“[They gave me] a cleaning cloth, two packs of strings, a ton of pics, all the decals, a tuner, a strap, basically everything you would possibly need to play a guitar and keep it right,” said White. “Like the string winder and the capo, a lot of people that are new to playing the guitar would have no idea about any of that stuff and wouldn’t know what [they need].”
White has been playing the guitar for several decades now, having first learned to play when he was 19. Now, he routinely plays and performs during several chapel services every week.
“This is actually going to become my field guitar,” said White. “So when I go do religious services for Soldiers in the field during training, this will be the one I carry with me.”
Not all the troops that receive guitars from Hearts to Heroes are as experienced as White.
“We have a lot of troops that say they’re beginners, so we’re hoping one day to hear a lot of good music coming from these troops,” said Foskey with a laugh.
White couldn’t speak highly enough of the organization's heart and generosity.
“It’s nice to get stuff and be remembered,” said White. “But this is unique. I don’t know if any other organization does anything like this. There is a lot of care that goes into this. This is something I’ll be able to use forever.”
“Sending these instruments to our troops just makes us feel good, knowing that we’re showing them support and helping their morale while they’re away from home,” said Foskey.
“They clearly love Soldiers and the military,” said White. “They are extremely appreciative of what we do. This is just their way of being able to use their gifts and talents to share back.”
White plans to express the same generosity that Hearts to Heroes showed him to a fellow Soldier down the line.
“This [guitar] will have an ongoing effect for the rest of my military career,” said White. “And then, one day when I’m done with it, I’ll find somebody else and pass it on.”
| Date Taken: | 05.11.2021 |
| Date Posted: | 05.12.2021 17:03 |
| Story ID: | 396215 |
| Location: | KW |
| Hometown: | COCHRAN, GA, US |
| Hometown: | CONCORD, NC, US |
| Web Views: | 538 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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