By Lindsay Danzell
Contributing Writer
Charleston Regional Business Journal
Issue: Dec. 25, 2006 – Jan. 7, 2007
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“Switches off and gas off.”
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When Ralph Curtis said those words on Aug. 26, 1944, his plane was about to crash in France. He had no idea they would be the last words he would speak to his friend and co-pilot Leonard Greiner for almost 60 years.
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Curtis and Greiner had flown two missions over the beaches of Normandy on
D-Day. They flew other missions in World War II’s European Theatre, including during the invasion of southern France.
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Before the war was over, Curtis and Greiner lost contact. For years, Curtis tried to locate his flying buddy to no avail.
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“Combat missions bond crewmembers together,” wrote Curtis years later. “And I certainly felt lost without Leonard.”
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Curtis learned that Greiner lived in Iowa and would occasionally scour local phone books for every Leonard Greiner he could find.
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“It is amazing how many Leonard Greiners there are in Iowa,” Curtis wrote. “One old codger once told me, ‘Hell man! You’ve called me three times.’ We still had not made contact with one another, and, in fact, neither one of us knew if the other was alive.”
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In April 2003, Curtis located Greiner on an online community for veterans called VetFriends.com, a Web site founded by Mount Pleasant resident Dale Sutcliffe.
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“The rest is history,” Curtis wrote on the Web site. “We were reunited in Iowa about 59 years later and met again in Washington, D.C., in time for the dedication of the World War II memorial.”
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Blending elements of the Department of Veterans Affairs and MySpace, VetFriends.com is dedicated to helping United States veterans reconnect with friends from their service time.
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The idea for VetFriends.com came about in 1999 when Sutcliffe asked his father-in-law, a Korean War veteran, what he would do if he found out about a reunion with his old Army unit.
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“I’d be on the next plane to Korea to see those guys,” his father-in-law said.
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Sutcliffe, a veteran of the first Gulf War who runs VetFriends.com from his Mount Pleasant office, built a business around the special bonds formed in war-time friendships. Since founding the company, Sutcliffe has reconnected with two friends he served with overseas.
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“Whatever the experience is, we all have bonds that were created at various parts of our lives,” Sutcliffe said.
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When Sutcliffe was ready to launch VetFriends.com in 2000, three other sites were announced offering similar services. Six years later, VetFriends.com and Military.com are the only sites to have survived and Sutcliffe’s site carries a stronger membership base than Military.com, he said.
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The Web site attracts 10,000 to 15,000 new members every month, with more than 720,000 members as of November 2006, Sutcliffe said.
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When asked about his key to success, Sutcliffe said VetFriends.com is “more personal to the veteran” than other sites and has embraced technology to help veterans stay connected.
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VetFriends.com is available to 29 million U.S. veterans, the average age of whom is 27, according to Sutcliffe. The average age of veterans has become increasingly younger, and they frequently use the Internet to stay connected, said Sutcliffe.
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In addition to reuniting old friends, the Web site offers an online database of job opportunities, a directory of veteran-owned businesses and military merchandise.
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In 2007, Sutcliffe plans to help veterans set up unit reunions, and will begin a coupon-mailing service that will be sent to members for use at veteran-owned businesses.
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“There are infinite directions (the company) can go in,” Sutcliffe said.
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