GENERAL: Military Families Need Community Support

The families of young U.S. Marines deployed abroad often rely on assistance from the community, according to Twentynine Palms Marine Combat Base Commanding General Herman S. Clardy.

“Most of the Marines are between the age of 21 and 23 and may be married and have young children,’’ Clardy said at a rally for the troops put on by the Palm Desert-based American Friends of Our Armed Forces.

“You can imagine being a long way from home there are a lot of things that they would need assistance with. Sometimes it’s a helping hand from the community. It takes a community to raise a child, as they say.”

He said that residents in the Coachella Valley have been “very generous.’’

“It’s all part of a community effort,’’ Clardy said. “We are all part of the same team.’’

Walt Van Benthuysen, president and founder of AFAF, said his organization has raised $1 million to support the military and their families by meeting some of their social, financial and emotional needs.

AFAF, which was founded in 2005, provides programs and services on the Twentynine Palms and Camp Pendleton Marine bases.

About 200 people attended a two-hour rally Wednesday at The Lakes Country Club in Palm Desert.

During a ceremony honoring the troops and their families, AFAF presented a $10,000 check to the Semper Fi Fund, which provides assistance to injured Marines.

The U.S. Marine Corps Band from Twentynine Palms performed a medley of songs.

Tom Arthur, an 80-year-old seasonal Palm Desert resident, said he attended the event because his son is a colonel on active duty in the U.S. Army, who is about to retire.

“I am a veteran of the Korean War,’’ he said.