Who would ever think someone would pay money for a necklace composed of a .50 caliber cartridge?<\/p>\n
An increasingly growing number of people will, apparently.<\/p>\n That\u2019s why Grantville-based Bullets2Bandages is now a fast-growing enterprise offering all kinds of military-oriented gifts and useful items that were once heavy military ammo.<\/p>\n It\u2019s also why a number of lesser known, but equally important military-related charities and foundations get increasing amounts of donations from the company.<\/p>\n It all began several years ago when two Naval Academy graduates came home from combat overseas and finished their military commitment.<\/p>\n Eric Spalding and Cole Evans might think of things a little differently than most military people, but that\u2019s understandable \u2014 they were both EOD officers, the people who disarm or blow up enemy bombs and improvised explosive devices.<\/p>\n One day, Evans posted a picture of a decommissioned cartridge that had fallen out of his old bulletproof vest. People started asking, \u201cwhere can I get one of those?\u201d Spalding and Evans figured, \u201cwell, why not from us?\u201d<\/p>\n From there, it wasn\u2019t a long step to figure out how to polish and shine old .50 caliber cartridge casings, and they were off to the races.<\/p>\n Spalding and Evans also enlisted fellow academy grad and former Marine officer Eric Montgomery as a partner to help oversee the Grantville production facility.<\/p>\n \u201cIt kind of surprised us at first \u2014 but we got over it,\u201d Montgomery said. \u201cThe more we did it, the more different and diverse products we dreamed up and tried out. There are all kinds of used military items that can be converted into things people will buy, for any number of reasons. One of our biggest sellers now are beer bottle openers. The expansion of local craft breweries means there is again a demand for good old-fashioned beer bottle openers, and they\u2019re not hard to make.\u201d<\/p>\n It goes on from there.<\/p>\n \u201cOne of the first markets for our cartridges was, interestingly, gifts from groomsmen and ushers at weddings. We can and do laser-engrave anything you want on the casing,\u201d Montgomery said. \u201cIt beats buying your groomsmen a really ugly necktie they\u2019ll never wear.\u201d<\/p>\n There\u2019s really a never-ending source of empty cartridges. The government likes to recoup a little money from all those bullets the military shoots in training every day. Montgomery says there are several auctions every year his company can bid on.<\/p>\n In sum, it\u2019s a growing business that will probably continue to grow as long as America has a military and people who identify with that military.<\/p>\n Part of that identity is giving back to people who served in America\u2019s armed forces, which is why Bullets2Bandages has a charitable component to its business model.<\/p>\n \u201cWe donate about 15 percent of our profit to charities and foundations that don\u2019t really register with the public, because they aren\u2019t big, organized efforts,\u201d Montgomery said. \u201cMany of them don\u2019t even have paid staff to go out and hustle money. Some of them are founded and operated by people still on active duty somewhere. They need the help, and we\u2019re here to give them some.\u201d<\/p>\n In fact, the first foundation the guys started contributing to is the Travis Manion Foundation.<\/p>\n That one is close to the heart. Travis Manion was Eric Spalding\u2019s classmate and best friend at the Naval Academy. Manion fell to a sniper\u2019s bullet in Iraq.<\/p>\n Some of the other charities Montgomery mentioned are the Marines Special Operations fund, 31 Heroes, the Marine Recon Foundations and the Wingman Foundation.<\/p>\n You may not have heard of them, but the people who benefit from their efforts certainly have.<\/p>\n The Bullets2Bandages product line expands all the time and the best way to see what they have is by visiting their website: Bullets2Bandages.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n It\u2019s worth a look \u2014 you\u2019ll be surprised.<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/missiontimescourier.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/Bullets2-web.jpg\")
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