VFW Post 3278 along with the Ladies and Men’s Auxiliaries will observe the beginning of relief operations in Somalia 6:00 PM Wednesday, April 10th at the VFW Post located at 2300 Stephen F. Austin.

Veterans of Somalia are invited to attend. VFW membership benefits will be presented to the Veterans.

Brigadier General John S. Brown of the U.S. Army and Chief of Military History explained the Somali relief effort in a brochure honoring the tenth anniversary of Operation RESTORE HOPE as follows:

“The United States Army has a long tradition of humanitarian relief. No such operation has proven as costly or shocking, however, as that undertaken in Somalia from August 1992 to March 1994. Greeted initially by Somalis happy to be saved from starvation, U.S. troops were slowly drawn into interclan power struggles and ill-defined “nation-building” missions. The American people woke up one day in early October 1993 to news reports of dozens of our soldiers killed or wounded in fierce fighting in the streets of the capital city Mogadishu. These disturbing events of a decade ago have taken on increasing meaning after the horrific attacks of 11 September 2001.

The Army began by assisting in relief operations in Somalia, but by December 1992 it was deeply engaged on the ground in Operation RESTORE HOPE in that chaotic African country. In the spring of the following year, the initial crisis of imminent starvation seemed to be over, and the U.S.-led Unified Task Force (UNITAF) turned over the mission to the United Nations, leaving only a small logistical, aviation, and quick reaction force behind to assist. The American public seemed to forget about Somalia. That sense of “mission accomplished” made the evens of 3-4 October 1993 more startling, as Americans reacted to the spectacle of dead U.S. soldiers being dragged through the streets by cheering Somali mobs-the very people Americans thought they had rescued from starvation.”

Make plans to attend this observation at 6:00 PM on Wednesday, April 10th.