WILLIAMSTOWN, Ky. — There’s a place where veterans come to deal with the struggles of transition by focusing their energies on new skills and creating these products with a purpose.
It’s called Patriots Landing, a rural faith-based veterans healing center. It’s in Grant County, just steps away from Kentucky Veterans Cemetery North.
Veterans from all across the country come to the center to create patriotic works of art.
“It's centered around woodworking. We have the veterans come in and work on different projects that we have, that we sell online,” said veteran Patrick Kanewske of Patriots Landing.
Inside the workshop, men and women are able to remove themselves from the drama, stress, anxiety and the depression that they still carry from their time in military conflicts.
“Watching the veterans get together, come together as a unit again, the comradery, it's just something that I haven't seen in a long time,” said Gary Coffman, a veteran. “I guess I felt fortunate myself, and I wanted to give back. It was my turn to give back to some of the less fortunate veterans that have a lot of issues. I feel fortunate, so I want to come out and help them all out.”
Everything there is 100% veteran made, including their signature product, the Veteran-Crafted Burial Flag Cases. Patriots Landing is honored to be the only provider of Burial Flag Cases to Arlington National Cemetery.
“I picked up the phone, and I called Arlington National Cemetery, and I asked if they carried burial flag cases, and they said no,” explained Joe Montgomery, founder of Patriots Landing. “But I said, ‘Well, may I tell you what we're doing?’ And I did. And on that phone call, wasn't five minutes, she said, ‘When can we get four cases? We want to start carrying your cases at Arlington.’ So since then, we've been the only burial flag case offered at Arlington National Cemetery.”
Patriots Landing was founded as a way to provide U.S.-made remembrance items for veteran cemeteries while providing veterans with programs designed to heal.
“If all of this was to save one life, we won. We won just one life. And we never use the word ‘therapy,’ but we're just a unique organization,” Montgomery said.
“You see the veterans that are in here working, it brings a tear to your eye. It means a lot to me. It is a well-run organization that still sees the mission of helping the people that served,” Coffman said.