Supporting the wounded warriors.

***************************************************************************************************************
PIN-UP GIRL WORKS FOR ILL AND INJURED VETERANS
by Frederick S. Meessen, American Legion Post 492,
West Lafayette, Indiana

To honor her grandfather, Louis, who served in the United States Army for four years during World War II and to help with the effort in aiding military service veterans in hospitals and active duty soldiers overseas, a stunningly attractive brunette from Southern California, Gina Elise, has created a website www.PinUpsforVets.com with a 1940's theme in music and content.

Gina's story begins with her grandfather who served in the Army during World War II. After settling down to raise a family, he took his daughters out to the local cemetery each Memorial Day to honor deceased veterans and family members.

Gina grew up to be a beautiful and patriotic young woman. She is not only beautiful, but smart, graduating fourth in her high school class and Phi Beta Kappa from the University of California at Los Angeles. She read about and learned of the problems of wounded Veterans in Veterans Hospitals throughout the United States, with underfunding, lack of visitation and difficulties of rehabilitation. So, combining her love of patriotism and music of the 1940's "greatest generation,"of which her grandfather was a part, she created a website for people to enjoy and to make them aware of Veterans health care issues, while raising funds for American Legion Post 360 of Lake Arrowhead, California to donate to programs supporting hospitalized veterans.

In 2007, Gina was voted the "Outstanding Young Californian" by the California Jaycees Foundation and the California Jr. Chamber of Commerce for creating this unique project to support hospitalized Veterans and deployed troops.

Gina got her academic start with the help of a college scholarship from American Legion Post 360, that co-sponsors her 2008 "Pin-Ups For Vets" calendar, that proudly displays the American Legion emblem on its cover, with Gina throwing a snappy salute in a 1940's style sailor suit.

Gina has attracted sponsors from various places in the United States, the most well-known of which is Wal-Mart Foundation, and her calendar is dedicated, in her words, to "all of our ill and injured Veterans who are hospitalized in facilities all over the U.S. and overseas, to their hard-working caregivers, to our retired Veterans who have honorably served our country, to the military families who have made so many sacrifices, and finally to the courageous troops who are currently serving in the United States military."

The "Pin-ups for Vets" website shows the very positive response to Gina's calendar from the troops overseas, as well as from the hospitalized Veterans, as they pose with the calendar opened to their favorite picture. Gina Elise has received four American flags from military units posted in Iraq, and and she plans to visit Walter Reed Hospital in Washington, D.C. and Bethesda Naval Hospital on February 8 to cheer up our recovering Wounded Warriors and to deliver donated calendars and posters inscribed with personal get-well messages of support from the donors.

Gina Elise is asking for the public's support. She is making many more visits to Veterans and military hospitals this year, and she invites the Post's readers to visit her website ( www.PinUpsForVets.com ) to order a calendar or a poster for themselves, for a hospitalized Veteran, or for a deployed soldier. Once again, the calendar project's proceeds will be delivered by American Legion Post 360 to a program to support hospitalized Veterans.

Gina Elise can be contacted at PinUpsForVets@aol.com.

Veterans around the country, active duty military, recovering Veterans, and civilians worldwide have become fans of a special project called "Pin-Ups For Vets". The project's "Pin-Up In Chief" Gina Elise, also the the creator and pin-up model in this nostalgic recreation of the 1940's pin-up girl calendar, is on her way to Walter Reed Army Medical Center and Bethesda Naval Hospital and is looking for the public's support .

"Stars and Stripes" newspaper, that goes to all active duty military, recently covered Gina Elise's project for the second time. The deployed troops have enthusiastically supported the calendar project. Gina Elise has had FOUR American flags flown in her honor over military bases in Iraq, and she has received hundreds of letters of appreciation from the troops. She has also received letters of thanks from military and Veterans Hospitals for her visits and gifts to the ill and injured Veterans. The California Jaycees Foundation and California Jr. Chamber of Commerce selected her as "2007 Outstanding Young Californian" for creating this project to support America's Veterans and active duty troops.

Gina Elise, dubbed "the calendar angel" by the deployed troops and the internet's bloggers, graduated Phi Beta Kappa from UCLA in 2004. She is the granddaugher of a Veteran who served 4 years in the Army during World War II. She wanted to do something positive to honor her grandfather's military service to the U.S. and to also focus attention on Veterans' healthcare issues.

Gina Elise begins the 2nd year of a unique fundraiser project she created to raise money for hospitalized Veterans. She is sponsored by American Legion Post 360, Lake Arrowhead, CA, and raises funds for the Post to donate to America's hospitalized Veterans. Her project has been embraced by hundreds of hospitalized Vets, and the project has boosted the morale of the deployed troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. People around the world have purchased her "Pin-Ups For Vets" calendars to support America's ill and injured Vets and deployed troops.

Gina Elise has visited and delivered her nostalgic "Pin-Ups For Vets" calendars to hundreds of Veterans at VA and military hospitals over this past year. Thousands of dollars have been raised to help hospitalized Veterans and under-funded healthcare programs.

Gina Elise, also dubbed " the new Betty Grable", appears as the blonde, brunette, redhead, and raven-haired model in the pin-up calendar, inspired by the 1940's pin-up girls of World War II. An Army Major in Iraq from the 10th Mountain Division recently painted a mural of Gina Elise's pin-up photo on a wall in the military base to help boost morale for the soldiers in his unit.

Gina Elise is making a trip to Walter Reed Army Medical Center and Bethesda Naval Hospital to deliver the donated "Pin-Ups For Vets" calendars and posters to the recently Wounded Warriors. The donated calendars and posters are inscribed with personalized messages of appreciation and get-well wishes to the ill and injured troops. Her goal is to bring a calendar to each of the Wounded Warriors, as well as the ill and injured Veterans, at these two hospitals. The proceeds from the sales of the 2008 calendar and posters will once again go to support an underfunded Veterans healthcare program.

Gina Elise gets many requests from the deployed troops for her calendars like this one:

*************************************************************************************
"Dearest Gina,

I am the Maneuver Platoon Sergeant here in ________ Afghanistan. I have a total of 20 Airborne Paratroopers under my supervision. We conduct a variety of patrols and leader engagements throughout our AO.

I found your story in the "Stars and Stripes" and thought of how much calendars are needed where we are located. See, we are a very small FOB, slightly over 200 Soldiers, Sailors, and Airmen. We lack lots of the amenities located at larger FOBs (ie: Cold Drinks, Mail, Finance and lots more). I wish to ask if you could send a few of your calendars to our FOB for distribution. I thank you for all your support from the home front. "

************************************************************************************

Hundreds of military members, Veterans, and civilians visit Gina Elise's website daily at : PinUpsForVets.com and go to the "behind the project" pages to read more about this calendar fundraiser for hospitalized Veterans. Gina Elise's fans frequently visit the "In the Field" pages to see all the smiling Vets and troops with the calendars and to learn more about Gina Elise's visits to military and VA Hospitals .

Pin-up fans or people wanting to support American's hospitalized Veterans and troops can visit Gina Elise's website to order a calendar or a poster for themselves, for a hospitalized Veteran, or for a deployed soldier. People can also order by mailing a check to : Gina Elise, P.O. Box 14, Redlands, CA 92373. Calendars are 22.00 and posters are 18.00 ( includes tax and shipping).

Gina Elise can be contacted on her website: www.PinupsforVets.com or by sending an e-mail to : PinUpsForVets.@aol.com