April 15, 2004

San Jose adopts the 341 st Military Police Army Reserve
City Council issues commendation—30 soldiers from San Jose included in unit

By Kymberli W. Brady
Staff Writer

In a moving ceremony on April 6, the city issued a commendation that officially adopted the San Jose based 341 st Military Police Army Reserve as a show of support for the troops serving in Iraq. They are among the more than 55 cities nationwide to adopt a military unit.

Mayor Ron Gonzales, Vice Mayor Pat Dando and Councilman Chuck Reed issued the commendation to 341 st MP representatives, Lieutenant Colonel Efrain Ruiz and Lieutenant Smith, along with Debbie Katsounakis, whose son Nick was deployed with the unit on March 18, 2003 and has been in Iraq since June.

Katsounakis, a former San Jose resident who orchestrated the adoption effort, is the leader of the Modesto-Central Valley Blue Star Mothers and Families, a support group designed to aid family members of U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. Nick, 22 worked as a group supervisor for the Satnislaus County Probation Department before going into active duty last year.

“I am so proud that the city of San Jose is recognizing the soldiers of the 341st Military Police Company,” said Katsounakis. “I am very proud of every one of these soldiers—all 165 of them. They have been away from their families for almost 13 months.”

During her speech, Katsounakis reflected back to a phone call she received from her son in Iraq. He asked if America was still supporting them—a question that plagued her with agony. “After that conversation, I understood the importance for the soldiers to know that we support them,” she exclaimed. “That their service to their country does not go unnoticed.”

Katsounakis has heard the same question asked over and over again among military personnel over the past year—prompting her into action. Her determination led her to America Supporting Americans (ASA), a non-partisan program founded in 1968 by Linda Patterson, which has enabled cities across America to adopt units of all branches of the Armed Services. Their mission is to demonstrate support and forge bonds between communities and soldiers.

Katsounakis continued her pursuit, sending emails to Gonzales, Dando and councilmembers, asking for the city's support of the troops. “Denelle Fedor contacted me from the Vice Mayor's office, and then I faxed everything to her outlining the program,” she explained. “ASA gave me the avenue to have San Jose adopt them.”

Patterson's story however, is a more somber one. Her brother Joe Artavia had been serving in Vietnam with the elite 101 st Airborne “Screaming Eagles” Division in 1968, when he wrote and asked her to find a city that would adopt his company for morale support. A persuasive Patterson ultimately convinced her hometown of San Mateo to pass a resolution that adopted the famous parachute contingent on March 4. Three weeks later, Artavia was killed in action.

The San Mateo community sent thousands of letters of support, along with over 4,000 care packages over the next five years and celebrated the return of their “adopted sons” during a parade on Jan. 22, 1972. The city renewed its adoption of Company A in 1991 and again in 2001.

Despite her personal tragedy, Patterson's mission continues today and over 18,000 American servicemen and women have been adopted by more than 55 cities across the nation. Through the efforts of ASA, communities can interact and show support for soldiers by sending letters and care packages—culminating in homecoming events at the end of the unit's tour of duty.

“I want to thank Linda Patterson for founding ASA, for having a program that every community should be involved in,” says Katsounakis. “She is amazing. She actually gives Americans a way to show support and I hope other citizens do this for units across the United States. May they forever know how proud we are, and that the question never be asked again, ‘Is America supporting them?'”

“Linda is to be commended for providing this means for Americans to relay their support for our soldiers abroad,” notes Dando. “And it's more impressive that she continue this organization for so many years after the death of her brother. I think its important for us to continue to remind the men and women that are fighting for our freedom that they have the support of people here at home. We hold them in our thoughts and prayers. We pray for their safe return and we pray for peace in Iraq.”

With the official adoption now a matter of public record, the city is focusing their plans on the unit's homecoming sometime in May or June. That reunion will be especially sweet for 30 of its members who call San Jose home, including SJPD Sergeant Francis C. Keffer and Officer Jose Frank Montoya.

After speaking with her son on Monday, Katsounakis says he sounds upbeat and they are still planning to leave as expected by the end of the month. She hopes to reunite with her son May 1, but admits that with tension heating up in Iraq, the reunion may be put on hold.

“The other soldiers are all so proud,” said a beaming Katounakis. “The commander went up and shook Nick's hand, and said he had an awesome parent. I think that's cool and they know what they're coming home to—that's the best gift we can give them.”

According to Dando, a homecoming celebration is in the making. “Most likely, it will be at the airport when they arrive,” she said. “Depending on how the military wants us to handle it, we will do more or less. I would encourage schools, churches and other organizations to join us when these men and women return.”