We carve canes for veterans so that we can honor and thank those who have honored us by serving for our country. We carve canes or walking sticks for veterans that have been wounded in service. We do carve for other veterans that were not wounded themselves, but have helped those that were in harm's way. It all started by an article in the Chip Cats magazine about a carving club in Oklahoma that wanted to make presentation canes for wounded veterans returning from the Gulf War. Our first cane was presented to a patient in at the VA Hospital in Lebanon on November 28, 2007.
Those eligible for a cane through this program are as follows:
1. All World War ll Veterans are eligible if they received the World War ll Victory Medal.
2. Korean War Veterans who served in Korea or adjacent waters and awarded the Korean Service Medal.
3. Vietnam War Veterans who served in Vietnam or adjacent waters and awarded the Vietnam Service Medal.
4. Veterans of the War on Terrorism who have been awarded a Purple Heart for injuries.
Here is how the process usually works: You download the application listed on this page. Then you fill out the application and send it to the address listed on the application. After we recieve your application, a club member volunteers to carve a cane or walking stick for you. The cane will be in the style of the person that volunteers to make it. It will usually have your name, rank and service carved or wood burned, an ANCC emblem, and maybe a message like "We the people of America thank you". Each cane is different. You can see some example of our canes for vets on our carving gallery.
After the cane is finished, we try to get you to one of our meetings and present the cane to you at our meeting. If that doesn't suit, we'll figure out some way to present the cane to you.
Please be patient with this process. We are all volunteers and we only meet once a month. We will get to your cane or walking stick, but it might take some time to complete it.
Download an Application for Canes for Vets as a word document. When you click on the link, you can chose to save the form to your computer. Then you can fill it out using Microsoft Word or you can print it out and fill it in by hand. When you have completed the form, you can email it to ANCC or mail it to the address on the form.
We request a DD-214 with the application for Cane for Vets. The National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) has provided the following website for veterans to gain access to their DD-214's online: http://www.archives.gov/veterans/military-service-records/
ANCC Canes for Vets in the News:
WGAL's 2009 airing of ANCC's cane for Vets program:
EngleOnline's newspaper article from Manheim Township Merchandiser - 01/13/2010
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