On the Record with: McHenry VFW Operation Christmas Cheer Chairman Ken Hauser

CARY – The holidays may have ended, but for Ken Hauser, planning for Christmas is a year-round responsibility.

Hauser, a Cary resident and Vietnam veteran, is the chairman of Operation Christmas Cheer, which he operates out of VFW Post 4600 in McHenry.

Hauser is entering his 25th year in charge of the program for the VFW’s Fifth District, and he spends the whole year gathering donations and items to use for gift boxes for veterans hospitalized at the Captain James A. Lovell Federal Health Care Center in North Chicago.

Hauser also is a chaplain for the VFW 5th District and the Illinois Marine Corps League. He sat down with Northwest Herald reporter Caitlin Swieca to discuss his work with veterans.

Swieca: Tell me about your work with Operation Christmas Cheer.

Hauser: This will become the 49th year of this program. This will be my 25th year I’m doing Operation Christmas Cheer, so I’d like to do something special. It’s for all our hospitalized veterans.

It’s an ongoing thing throughout the year with me collecting items from different companies, locations, people. We had over 100 people volunteering, helping us put these boxes together.

We get about 65 items in there that go to every veteran up at North Chicago, and there are some left over that I give to other veterans outside the hospital. We toured the hospital on Dec. 13, and we ended up seeing about 325 patients up there.

The cadets from Waukegan, there’s about 40 of them that come every year to help not only fill the boxes, but on the day we distribute the boxes, they’re Santa’s helpers. Without the Waukegan ROTC cadets, we couldn’t do this anymore.

It’s a challenge. Every year you try to notch it up one notch. I think every year it’s been wonderful.

Swieca: How did you first get involved with the project?

Hauser: I’ve been the 5th District chaplain for way over 25 years now. I met with this one gentleman who was doing Operation Christmas Cheer, Don Librande, who started it. It was a USO-style show. I was very impressed. My company, H Media, did video productions, so it was right up my alley to videotape it. He thought it was a great idea.

He died, and I stepped forward. I think the Lord led me. I stepped forward to try to continue what good he had started.

For the last 15 years we’ve been doing this format. We used to really race through the wards, “Christmas, blah blah blah.”

This year, we spent quality time with each time of our veterans. We sing Christmas carols; we give goody boxes. They’ll sing back to us, we sing to them. We sing from “Jingle Bells” to “Away in a Manger,” “Silent Night,” “Frosty the Snowman.”

This is really my Christmas present, helping the veterans in the hospital. Our God sent his son down, and this is our way of saying thank you, by spreading his word.

Swieca: You were in Vietnam, which was obviously a life-changing experience for those who went. How has staying involved with the VFW and other veterans’ groups helped you since then?

Hauser: I was in Vietnam in 1967. I ended up becoming a senior helicopter mechanic.

At that time I was a soldier. I was in the Army. That’s why I have post-traumatic stress. The first month, month and a half was horrible. I went from hell to heaven. I still get emotional.

Actually, I see two psychologists. One is with a group, and what a wonderful group of guys. We’re all Vietnam vets. We do share not only what went on, but with our families and everything.

It’s every other week we meet, and it’s been very, very helpful.

Swieca: How did you end up getting involved with the Marine Corps League?

Hauser: Sixteen or 17 years ago, I get a call from a general from the Marine Corps from the Pentagon. He said, “I’m calling because we’re starting a new detachment in Gurnee, and we’re looking for a chaplain, and we’d like to know if you’d consider it.”

The first thing I said was, “Sir, you realize I was [an Army] soldier.” He said, “We know that. I have in front of me your records. You’re a certified chaplain, you’re a combat vet, you’re honorably discharged, but most importantly, your dad was a Marine, so you’ve got Marine blood in you. Would you consider it?”

I jumped in and I said, “Wow, that would be a wonderful way of not only remembering my father, but helping the corps out.” They kind of adopted me as their chaplain.

Swieca: If people want to volunteer or donate to Operation Christmas Cheer, how could they do that?

Hauser: They can call me [at 847-207-3028] or email me [at hmediainc@comcast.net] and put "OCC" somewhere in the subject so I can keep a record.