Operation Paperback: South Side students send books to soldiers, veterans

“These things have kind of been trickling in from the veterans affairs hospitals, from Army veterans,” said Mike Musilli, an English teacher who also advises South Side High School’s Military History Club, as he pointed to half a dozen or so thank-you cards and letters on his desk. “This person’s active duty.”

This year, Musilli’s club of about 10 members has helped Operation Paperback, a national nonprofit organization, whose volunteers collect gently used books and send them to American troops overseas, as well as veterans and military families across the United States. Since 1999, the organization has shipped more than 2.2 million books, according to its website.

Senior William DiRubbio, a four-year member and two-year president of the club who is set to attend the Air Force Academy in the fall, said the idea to participate in Operation Paperback came last year, when renovations to the school’s library put books at risk of being discarded.

He and his former co-president decided to find a way to save the books from being thrown away and put them toward a good cause. Through Operation Paperback, the club gets a list of names and addresses, and sorts books based on genres to be sent out to troops, military families and veterans who want or need them.

“It doesn’t require as much action on our part,” DiRubbio said, “… but it’s still an opportunity for us to show our love and appreciation for those who serve us.”

The Military History Club, which Musilli helped start seven years ago, meets after school once a week to discuss an array of topics that go beyond military history, including military spending and involvement overseas.

Sophomore Sean McCarthy, who has a brother at the United States Naval Academy and a sister in the Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps, joined the club last year. “I was always interested in military history and I already knew that there’s a lot that needs to be done with our veterans and active duty members,” he said. “They can’t really be forgotten. They’re a big part of what makes us the United States.”

Senior Michael Luvin said a friend of his family served in Afghanistan, where he suffered hearing damage, and he now struggles with post-traumatic stress disorder. “There can definitely be more [done] for people like him who need support from not just his family but from others too,” Luvin told the Herald. “… Something like this would give him that appreciation that I think a lot of veterans are seeking.”

Each year, Musilli said, club members volunteer at a local soup kitchen, host members from Rockville Centre American Legion Post 303 and donate to Operation Homefront, a nonprofit that provides housing and a variety of family support programs to military families.

“I recognize that it isn’t for everyone,” DiRubbio said, “but those who do come to the club and talk with us and interact with veterans that come in, they really do care, and it speaks to how we haven’t lost our touch with those who serve around us.”

A veterans affairs hospital in Maine wrote to the club, sharing that the books were put on a library cart to be distributed, and a hospital in Minneapolis said it added the club’s donation to its patient lounge. Army veteran Amanda Mannon sent a card with a quote from “To Kill a Mockingbird,” urging the group to “Keep sharing the love of reading!”

“It’s good for them to know that you’re not just sending this off to some nebulous place or address,” Musilli said. “You’re sending this to a person who appreciates what you do.”