DAV

DISABLED AMERICAN VETERANS

Building Better Lives for America's Disabled Veterans

www.ClubmaxxGolfBags.com

Golf Bags & Equipment

Hello,

I’m Scott Gordon, President and Founder of Clubmaxx Golf Bags. Of all the pages on this site and all the information contained on it there is none more important to me than this one. Not because we sell on it, we don’t. Not because the DAV endorses Clubmaxx in any way, they don’t. And, not because I, or any of my family are disabled veterans, they are not. In fact, though I was in the Navy during the Vietnam era like thousands of others, I do not consider myself a veteran. Veterans in my eyes are those who fulfilled a commitment. A commitment that goes beyond putting on a uniform and falling in for muster.

In my just over three years of active duty (I was given a one-year early out) the most hazardous duty I ever had was flying all over the country with the Marines in C-119 cargo planes. Though they were somewhat nerve wracking at times (That plane wasn’t even supposed to fly!) one can hardly consider that qualifying me for anything in the military but being the butt of a few jokes about being a Duck (a Navy airman), attached to a Grunt crew (grumbling Marine flight crew), flying in an airplane that shouldn’t fly.

My job? Well, during the late ‘60’s the Navy was closing air bases all over the country. My sole purpose in the Navy (being a Navy Aviation Storekeeper) was to count the NC-5 Jet ground starting units we were transferring from one base to another as they were loaded on our plane (a C-119 could hold three), and count them again as they were off loaded to make sure the Marines did not steal one of them from the Navy in Flight. Tough duty!

Another duty I had, however, did touch me deeply. It was being on the Honor Guard for fallen Navy and Marine personnel as they were returned home from Vietnam. I could not tell you how many military funerals I participated in during those years. All I know is that it was far more than anyone would ever care to see in a lifetime. Though I could not tell you the names of a single one now, I still feel tears in my eyes and the lump in my throat every time I think of them and remember the faces of those family and friends time, after time, after time.

We, as a family, have been so blessed over the years with our military service. My father, uncles even a couple of aunts and my brother made it through wars without a scratch. My father (USS Kearsarge), brother (USS Oriskany) and most of my uncles were in the Navy mostly on carriers (USS Bon Homme Richard and Wasp). A couple of uncles in the army. One landed in Normandy on D-Day. None were ever hurt.

My brother was on the USS Oriskany in 1966 when an explosion ripped through the hanger deck which he was working just minutes earlier killing 44 and injuring many more. He was not one of them.

Every year at our Military Appreciation Day Tournament we sponsor I get to see and talk to those who were not so lucky. You hear all the time a golf commentator calling some shot a pro makes on TV a “courageous” attempt when he is shooting for tens or even hundreds of thousands to win a tournament on Sunday afternoon. If you want see truly courageous golf shots, watch the one made by a golfer on one leg, with one arm or made from a wheel chair or prosthetic after he/she has laid down their $5 for a closest to the pin shot or to win the longest putt for a fund raiser for other vets. That’s courageous. It is also the most humbling thing for a golfer of any handicap to witness. I confess that I will never have that much courage.

Though I may have spent time in the military, I do not consider myself a veteran. I was never in harms way. I will never have to live with my commitment. Those I buried, those DAV members and all of their families are the true veterans. And even though their military service may be over they will live for a lifetime with a commitment I never had to make. That, too, is a very humbling thought.

I invite you to visit the DAV site and challenge you to read their stories, to watch their videos and meet those we support without getting tears in your eyes and a lump in your throat. I loose that challenge every day.

My wife, Jeanne, and I have been together now for 30-years. Jeanne retired from the VA Medical Center in St. Cloud, MN after committing almost 39-years of her life in 2006. When she wasn’t working at the VA she was volunteering to help with patient or volunteer activities . She spent the majority of her adult life at that VA and even though she was never in the military I consider her to be more of a veteran than I ever was. By our donation to the DAV with a portion of the proceeds from every bag we sell along with our generous customers joining in by allowing us to embroider their bag for them in exchange for their donation we are following through with the only commitment we can offer to those that committed what they had to offer for us.

We hope by keeping the DAV in front of golfers everywhere they will see their way to committing to this great organization and the people they help whether by donating, volunteering or maybe even having or participating in one of their charity golf tournaments.

Please support them in any way you can. It’s not just that they need it, it is because they deserve it.

Thank you for taking your time to view this page. We hope you watch the videos, visit the links and hope you understand why we engage ourselves with the DAV as we do and invite you to join us.

Just click any of the DAV logos to visit their site and not only see how you may help but learn why you should.

Jeanne and I thank everyone for their support.

Sincerely,