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Any spouse of a veteran interested in joining the local chapter of the Gold Star Wives, or anyone interested in helping, can call Kernea at 706-861-0935.
Flora Lee Kernea still remembers sifting through the town dump in the rain, hoping to find tin cans or anything else she could sell to buy enough milk to put in her baby’s bottles.
After her husband was discharged from the Army due to disability following WWII, her family hit rock bottom.
“Nobody was there to help us,” the Rossville resident said.
The now-80-year-old has made it her mission to keep others from ever suffering the experience she once lived. Nine years ago, she founded the Magnolia Chapter of the Gold Star Wives of America – made up of military widows but which also welcomes husbands of veterans. Each year the organization collected clothing and provided more than a month’s supply of food for military families.