MOMS RAISE FUNDS FOR VETS.

Byline: GIDEON RUBIN

Staff Writer

QUARTZ HILL -- Following a tradition that began almost a century ago, the local chapter of a group supporting active soldiers and their families is organizing fundraisers for servicemen wounded in the Iraq war.

The Antelope Valley Blue Star Mothers will hold a fundraiser for wounded Army Staff Sgt. Travis Strong from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Monday at Vince's Pizza and Pasta, 2833 W. Avenue L, Quartz Hill.

Strong lost both legs when his M1 Abrams tank was blown up in an insurgent attack in Baghdad.

On Thursday night, the group held fundraisers at all three Antelope Valley Cold Stone Creamery stores in support of wounded Army Spc. Jerral Hancock.

Hancock lost an arm and remains paralyzed from the waist down and was severely burned in an improvised explosive device attack -- also on an M1 Abrams tank.

The Blue Star Moms formed during World War I and was granted nonprofit status during World War II. The Antelope Valley chapter began at the start of the Iraq war in March 2003, and now has about 40 to 50 members, chapter President Elisa Clark said.

Strong was serving his second tour in Iraq when he was wounded in a Nov. 27 attack. He is rehabbing at Naval Medical Center San Diego.

Strong is being fitted with prosthetics. He hopes to return to the Antelope Valley later this year and work at Northrop Grumman, which has an employment program for veterans.

His progress is by all accounts going well. Strong recently competed in a 4-mile hand-cycle race in San Diego.

He said his wife, Misty, 8-year-old daughter, Brianna, and 5-year-old son, Sean, have provided help and inspiration.

"I'm just trying to keep a positive outlook on this, that's the main thing," Strong said by phone from San Diego on Friday.

Strong has provided inspiration, too, Misty Strong said, noting that her husband helps clean their home, care for their children and plays with their dog.

"It's really hard seeing someone you love go through this, but when you see him being so strong and optimistic, it really helps," she said.

Clark said the Blue Star Mothers send care packages to active soldiers and help them take advantage of available medical and educational benefits when they return.

The group provides support for all soldiers, whether their mothers are group members or not.

Clark said helping troops and their families cope with the hardships of war brings together mothers of soldiers with different feelings about the war itself.

"A lot of kids are not getting support from their families and their morale is not as high as those who do," Clark said. "We'll do anything we can to support (the troops.)"

Clark said the group has established relief funds at Edwards Federal Credit Union. She asks that donations be payable to the Relief Fund for Jerral Hancock, the Relief Fund for Travis Strong, or Blue Star Mothers Chapter 14. All checks can be sent to Blue Star Mothers Chapter 14, P.O. Box 4667, Lancaster, CA 93539.

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(1 -- color) Army Staff Sgt. Travis Strong lost both legs in an insurgent attack in Iraq last year. The Antelope Valley Blue Star Mothers will hold a fundraiser for Strong at Vince's Pizza and Pasta in Quartz Hill on Monday evening from 5 to 9.

(2) Travis Strong is being fitted for prosthetics to replace the legs he lost in Iraq. He recently completed a four-mile hand-cycle race in San Diego, where he is rehabilitating. "I'm just trying to keep a positive outlook on this, that's the main thing," Strong said.