Published: March 20, 2008 10:22 am      

Good Friday vigil will run all day in Jeffersonville

Vanessa Coulter knows what it’s like to have a loved one serving overseas.

Her son spent about a year in Iraq from 2005-06.

So, she decided to start a local chapter of Blue Star Mothers, a group dedicated to helping military families cope.

“The families make sacrifices every day being away from their soldier,” Coulter said. “We want to link the military families and the community together so it increases the awareness on what the military families actually go though.”

With 3,400 Indiana National Guard Troops recently deployed to Iraq, Coulter said more people are feeling the effects of the war.

“It’s bringing the war to our doorsteps now. It makes it more of a reality to a lot of people,” she said. “People who may have not been thinking much about the war are now thinking more about it. I thought now would be a good time.”

A good time to have a prayer vigil, not only for Indiana’s soldiers, but for everyone serving overseas.

“When we first planned the vigil, I thought it was going just to be a small candlelight vigil and there might just be a few of us there having a prayer. The next thing I knew, I’m going to be there all day, from 4:30 in the morning on,” Coulter said. “It just blossomed.”

After Pentagon officials heard of what she was doing, they contacted her and decided to send a speaker from their program called Why We Serve.

The all day event — which will be at the Wall of Honor in Jeffersonville — will feature speakers from Military One Source, which is a program that offers counseling, financial assistance and more to military families.

Coulter said all day, there will be a Blue Star representative on hand, along with military support groups available to provide information as well as answer questions. Blue Star members also will be collecting donations for care packages and selling wrist bands, with “I support our troops” written on them.

The prayer vigil starts at 7 p.m.

“The outpouring of community support for their (the soldiers’) mission is important to maintain the morale of the troops,” Coulter said. “It is important that every time our troops look over their shoulders toward home, they see the candle lights burning in the windows.”

And for those dealing with a loved one serving overseas, Coulter said, “Call me and we’ll help you through it.”