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Show AMERICAN FORK CITIZEN Page 3 mi Jmm VFW helping soldiers, families stay connected Michael Rigert NORTH COUNTY STAFF Thursday, March 27, 2008 Oparat M teep Ihe wife of a long time military man, Cheri Shute of Orem knows the sacrifices and costs of having her hus band and father of the couple's five children half the world away on long deployments. When Gordon Shute was deployed to Okinawa, Japan, with the U.S. Marines during the Gulf War (he's currently serving with the Utah Army National Guard's 1 Kith Engineer Engi-neer Company in Iraq), Cheri Shute estimated the family spent $2,000 in phone calls just to keep in touch. With advances in technology since then and the assistance of people like Kraig Thorne of the Veterans of Foreign Wars Timpanogos Post 4918 in American Fork, Shute and hundreds of other deployed Utah County soldiers and their families now are able to communicate com-municate with far away loved ones. Through a program Thorne initiated dubbed Operation Keep in Touch, VFW members mem-bers with the help of deployed soldiers' spouses and family fam-ily support volunteers have purchased web cams and donated do-nated them to libraries in Utah County specifically for military families to talk to and see their overseas troops. With Mountain American Credit Union providing a $500 grant for the cameras (which run $50 a pop), Jennie Taylor of North Odgen, a family readiness readi-ness volunteer with the 116th Engineer Company said cameras camer-as have already been presented to libraries in Pleasant Grove, Lehi, and last week, Orem. The American Fork Library received re-ceived a web cam donation on - . r. ')A f ( ' f. p'-'V ' It i " ( LA- ' i 5 t ,i r. V-" ; 1 V V X) w 1 MARIO RUIZDaily Herald Charles Edwards of the Veterans of Foreign Wars presents web cameras to Orem Public Library Director Louise Wallace and Orem Mayor Jerry Washburn at the Orem City Offices on March 19. Operation Keep In Touch has set up web cams in all Utah County libraries giving video streaming access to families of overseas military service personnel. Wednesday. Taylor, whose husband Brent is serving with Staff Sgt. Shute in Iraq, said many military mili-tary families either don't have a computer at home or don't have the Internet access on their home computer needed to operate a web cam. The option of being able to go to a city library and get live streaming audio and video from Baghdad, Kuwait City, Kabul or Seoul, gives them an personal connection connec-tion impossible through e-mail or even cell phones. "Web cams help," she said. "It is a lifesaver for my kids to see him and a lifesaver for him to see them." Thorne, with the help of Taylor, has plans to donate web cams to every library in Utah County and to expand the program statewide in May. He said the web cam communica tions improve morale for both the soldier and his family. "Nothing can replace a parent par-ent being there, but this is basically the next best thing," he said. At the Orem Public Library, the web cam-equipped computer comput-er is located in the south wing's Internet training room. Military Mili-tary families need to call in advance ad-vance (229-7050) to reserve the computer because the space is used for other programs, said Louise Wallace, the Orem library's director. "1 think it's a tremendous idea," she said. "We're happy to offer this service." Though Cheri Shute is unable un-able to use web cams to visit with her husband because he's with a convoy security unit that doesn't allow web cams on its protected computers, she said the web cam donations are a major benefit for military families and their soldiers. "Now e-mail is free and web cams are free and it really is a big difference," she said. "It's nice to stay in touch with Dad." 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