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48 | LIFE IN SOLERA | NOVEMBER 2023 | There were no days to raise the Flags in October. The Flags will be raised in November for Veterans Day (11/11/23). Thank you to those few dedicated resident volunteers who are up "at the crack of dawn" on these special days to put up and take down our flags. Contact for the Flag Brigade – Nick Gercis, nick.gercis@gmail.com. Jesse Donardt is a resident of Solera and someone who cares for our troops overseas. Jesse collects things that our troops need and enhances the morale and well-being of these troops worldwide by shipping care boxes containing items specifically requested by them. Please support Jesse and the SUPPORT OUR TROOPS program. Jesse can be reached at (951) 845-9028. To all veterans, THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE!! Billy (Mitch) Mitchell is a resident and veteran who has voluntarily worked with individuals and the Veterans Administration (VA) in order to assist veterans in obtaining veteran benefits. If you are a veteran and interested in finding out which benefits you may be eligible to obtain, contact Mitch at (951) 797-0800. Over the last two years, we have had three garage sale fundraisers. Each has been more successful than its predecessor. Our last one, on Sept. 16, raised enough funds to operate for 35-40 percent of the year. One hundred percent of the money raised goes for postage. An important element to having a successful sale is "Location location location." Ron and Debbie Monroe have been so gracious to host the sales at their Gleneagles Road home. THANK YOU, Ron, Debbie, and each and everyone of you who worked so hard. Now on to another story that took place a number of years ago. Back when we had large numbers of troops fighting in Afghanistan, Solera was supporting a logistics unit that trucked supplies to military points, all over Afghanistan. They called themselves the Mustangs. During their tour, we sent them lots of emails, letters, cards and packages. They designed a baseball style cap that all their troops might have one to wear and remember their time in Afghanistan. The cap displayed a horse on the front, an American flag on one side and an Afghan flag on the other side. Across the back was the word, "Mustangs" and their unit number. The unit honored me with one of their caps. I still occasionally wear it. Each spring, I would pack up all my troop supplies, for the 1,350 mile drive to my summer location, in Idaho. There, I would split my time between fishing and supporting the troops. On my travels to and from Idaho, I often stopped in the town of Baker, home of the tallest thermometer. One of my favorite places to eat was the Mad Greek Cafe, famous for its Gyros sandwiches. The place had been added onto several times, over the years. On one of my stops, I was wearing my Mustang cap. A young, clean-cut young man asked if he could join me at my table. After sitting down, he explained that he had noticed my cap with the Afghan flag on it. He explained he was in the Army, home on leave, and traveling to rejoin his unit. He would then be returning to Afghanistan. We had a most enjoyable lunch. I explained how I came about the Mustang hat and he told me about quite a few of his experiences in Afghanistan. Thank you for caring. ~ Jesse Donardt SUPPORT OUR TROOPS VETERAN ASSISTANCE FLAG BRIGADE Billy (Mitch) Mitchell is a resident and Veteran who has voluntarily worked with individuals and the Veterans Administration to assist Veterans in obtaining benefits. If you are a Veteran and want to know which benefits you may be eligible for, contact Mitch at (951) 797-0800.