May 20, 2016 | By LYNDA STRINGER

 

Kellye Cooper displays a Shield of Strength| Photo by LYNDA STRINGER

 

Ministering Our Military received a surprise donation from a veteran who has been on a mission to “carry the load” for soldiers for many years.

U.S. Army (Ret.) Col. David Dodd recently learned about the Mount Pleasant-based organization and its efforts to support military troops and the Carry The Load National Relay, which makes its annual stop in Mount Pleasant on May 27.

M.O.M. hosts a rally and lunch for the Carry The Load team and invites active duty military, veterans, police officers, firefighters and first responders to a free lunch and the community to join them in the Mount Pleasant to Winfield leg of the Carry The Load Walk.

Dodd, who served in the military for more than 27 years, including two deployments to Iraq and one to Afghanistan, offered to donate “Shields of Strength” dog tag necklaces for the group to distribute to those who attend the rally. The necklaces come in a wide variety of styles and have Bible verses on the back.

Dodd will also walk with the Mount Pleasant team and will serve as the event’s keynote speaker.

Kellye Cooper, the co-founder of M.O.M. said Dodd contacted her saying he wanted to partner with the group and donate the dog tags for the rally, for Gold Star families and for every care package the group sends to military troops.

“I sent him an email that said, ‘This is great. I love the offer, but I don’t want to ask for too many’ and asked if they could give me an estimate of what I could ask for,” Cooper said. “Col. Dodd emailed me back and said, ‘We’re talking thousands. You ask and we’ll provide.’ He said that when they can no longer provide, God will find a way.”

Cooper said more than 1,000 people attended the rally last year at the Mount Pleasant/Titus County Chamber & Visitor’s Center. The rally starts at 10:30 a.m., with the national relay team will arriving at around 11 a.m.

“They are providing a Shield of Strength for every single person that attends. I have one for every first responder, one for every member of M.O.M. with the appropriate branch of service. and also, they sent folded flag Shields for every Gold Star family that attends.”

Cooper said she can’t put into words what the generous offer means to her group.

“I have probably cried more tears over this than anything in a long time. This is unbelievable to me,” she said. “I’m absolutely blown away.”

The Shields of Strength necklaces were created by Kenny Vaughan, the story of which is told in his book of the same name. Vaughan won the 1996 national championship in water-ski jumping after striving for the title for 15 years.

Dodd, a man of deep faith, came across Shields of Strength while serving in the Army. He found soldiers wearing the dog tags they had attached to their military issue tags. The Shields had the verse from Joshua 1:9 inscribed on them: “I will be strong and courageous. I will not be terrified or discouraged, for the Lord my God is with me wherever I go.”

While on active duty, Dodd handed out more than 10,000 Shields of Strength tags to members of the Armed Forces, military families and senior U.S. and international leaders.

He told Cooper that he’s never seen a ministry that changed lives the way the Shields of Strength ministry has.

“He said he could try to give people Bibles all day long and they wouldn’t accept them, but if he gave them that Shield, they would attach it to their dog tags and somewhere along the line, they’d read the scripture and come back later and ask about it,” Cooper said. “We always said this ministry was about God, that we wanted God to be foremost and what better way to present this than in a way that people will accept it.”

Dodd said he has a special request for those who receive a Shield at the rally.

“We will ask them to wear the Shield and when they see a member of the Armed Forces or a First Responder, to thank them for their service and give them their Shield of Strength.”

The idea ties perfectly into the mission of Carry The Load, which seeks to bring back the true meaning of Memorial Day and honors the military and those who serve their communities in first responder roles.

“The word picture created by Carry The Load is powerful on many levels. Warriors do carry heavy loads of combat gear and equipment. Often they carry heavy mental and emotional loads,” Dodd said. “They will carry the load as far and as long as they possibly can without asking for help. That is how they are wired, to carry the load for others.”

The Shields of Strength will be an additional gesture from a grateful community to a deserving few who take on the challenge to serve.

Lynda Stringer is a Mount Pleasant-based freelance writer and the owner of Stringer Media. Contact her at Lynda.Stringer@outlook.com.