Legion Post 184’s Convoy of Mercy: Wildwood, NJ to Wildwood, Fla.

WILDWOOD – Murphy’s Law (anything that can happen will) could not be broken even for the Wildwood American Legion Post 184’s disaster relief convoy to Hurricane Irma victims in Wildwood, Fla. and other nearby towns.
To Commander Harry Weimer’s chagrin, on the morning of Sept. 19, as three trailers laden with cases of donated water, diapers, dog and cat food and other toiletries were ready for the 1,030-mile trek, one of the trailers had a flat tire.
As rain fell, and final arrangements were made to tighten tarps, Weimer watched as Calvin Fabio (nicknamed Shrek), rolled a heavyweight jack under the trailer and hoisted it to enable the tire to be changed.
Watching from under an umbrella was Joselyn Gonzalez, a Middle Township Elementary School first-grader, and her mother, Dawn Gonzalez. The girl had collected many donations to help the storm victims, and added a few more that morning. Weimer pointed to the goods she’d collected in one of the trailers.
Weimer said over 200 cases of water were donated, as were many sacks of animal food.
One of the final details before leaving was the placement of three placards on one trailer: Wildwood, NJ, Disaster Relief, Wildwood, Fla. Wildwood Mayor Ernie Troiano joined to lend a helping hand to secure tarps on the trailers and bid the veterans farewell for journey.
Weimer said they were to pick up another trailer at a Cherry Hill American Legion post, then head south. He estimated the convoy would arrive in Wildwood, Fla. late in the day Sept. 20. Plans were to drive straight through, with two drivers per truck taking turns at the wheel.
Weimer said that an additional van had to be rented due to the number of donations, for which he was very grateful.
Wildwood, Fla. was to be the group’s first stop. Weimer said that the next stop would be Lehigh Acres, a town that was heavily damaged by Irma.
Kathi Weimer, the commander’s wife, watched as the final packing was done and rain continued to fall.
Harry Fesler, the treasurer of the Sons of the American Legion, planned to videotape the odyssey and post his images to Facebook and YouTube.