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Post by Nancyd021410 on Jan 6, 2007 7:22:31 GMT -6
I thank you. For what you are doing now, and for what you have done. My thank you spreads a million miles wide! Please, comment here in this thread on how this affects you, gifts from home. What impact has this had in your life now? What impact did this have on you while you were serving our Country? I met a dear dear friend, his name is Albert. He's home now, Thank God, but I know from what he's told me, correspondence from home meant the world to him! Thank you again for protecting me and my kids. Nancy
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Post by Nancyd021410 on Jan 6, 2007 7:28:15 GMT -6
I'm writing a note from my father. He passed away in 1973. He was an Air Force Sergeant, served in Vietnam.
I know my mom has said many times how the effect of the Homeland affected him greatly back then! There were no shoeboxes, and the home front wasn't so welcoming as we are now of our troops at war. I do remember Mom saying how just that letter from home, pictures, just anything would make his Month better, happier, stronger, and pulled him through some really rough times.
That's all I can do. Write a simple note here from my father, saying thank you to whom ever wrote that letter to him, and made him smile, and pulled him through a rough time. Thank you.
Nancy Davis- Southern Illinois
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Post by Nancyd021410 on Jan 9, 2007 13:03:31 GMT -6
OK, I'm not a veteran, but my cousin Tony was in Desert Storm in '91. I was in high school and totally in my own little world. My mom asked me to write Tony a letter. I didn't know what to write. I was a kid. What could a kid have to write to a grown man in a war? I was scared for him, but I couldn't write that. Did he honestly want to hear about the school dance, I wondered. I don't even remember what I wrote, but I wrote him a letter. I'm sure it was filled with silly nonsense that made him roll his eyes more than anything, but years later he thanked me for that letter. He said he really appreciated that I took the time to write. I couldn't believe that he even remembered that silly letter! Of course, once I knew how much it meant to him, I felt so guilty for not writing more. I know that Tony got letters pretty regularly from his family and friends, and yet he still remembered my silly letter.
Right now, there are men and women in Iraq that don't get that many letters. Some don't get any at all. I can only imagine how much a box of stuff from home and a few kind words would make them feel.
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Post by nlt on Jan 9, 2007 19:58:57 GMT -6
I too have a story, not as a veteran, but from experience with writing a soldier during Desert Storm and my cousin's experience in Iraq 2 years ago.
I was in grade school during the war and we were all given the opportunity to write to a Navy ship during the war. At that age I didn't really know what war meant and what all was going on over there, but I knew it was big and impacted people worldwide. I wrote to a man who is about my age now, and I can't fathom going through what he did at this age. He had little ones at home and really missed his family. His kids were to young to write, but would send pictures. He was always so very gracious when he would write back to me. He always mentioned how getting a letter from a little kid in the middle of the US just reminded him how all the work, pain, struggle and suffering they were enduring was for so many people back home. It was a reminder that not only was his family supporting him, but the whole country, young and old. Even though I'm sure my letters were quite boring and had little to do with what he was going through, it was something else for him to look forward to when mail would arrive. He would tell me it would help keep his spirits up, so he could see his kids grow up and experience the things I was experiencing at that age. If any thing, I think it gave him a distraction from what was going on around him and gave him time to sit down, reflect and write about his family, memories and the things he was looking forward to when he would come home. I still have the letters he wrote to me and will always cherish them. I got a little long winded, so I'll come back to write about my cousins experience with receiving "care packages" from strangers during this war.
Whether it is a picture, a drawing, a letter or a card...these men and women sometimes need just that little something to boost their morale and lift their spirits. It is not taken for granted and very much appreciated! Remind them how much we support and appreciate what they are doing for us!
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Post by mclhfan on Feb 1, 2007 20:48:18 GMT -6
The DJs at one of the radio stations I listen to send out newsletters with play lists, coming concerts, etc. One of the them also includes a section called “Live Each Day To Its Fullest.” Here is the most recent - a long list:
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Live Each Day To Its Fullest
Jae Moon Thursday, December 28 2006 Rocky Mountain News -- Young Moon received one of the best Christmas gifts a father could receive from a son stationed in Iraq.
His son, Jae, had been badly wounded by a roadside bomb on Dec. 14 while helping direct a patrol in Baghdad, but on Christmas Eve a relieved Moon heard his son's voice on the phone.
"I was talking to him, and he called me around 7 p.m., and he said, 'I'm OK, Dad. I'm busy. I'm a leader now, and I have a lot of soldiers. I'm taking care of them. Don't worry about me, Mom and Dad,' " Moon recalled.
"That's why I was very happy. It was a Christmas present for me."
But less than 10 hours later, Moon's Christmas joy vanished. Sgt. Jae Moon, 21, succumbed to his injuries on Christmas Day. Jason Denfrund Thursday, December 28 2006 News 4 (December 27, 2006) -- Christmas Day brought heartbreak to a Southern Tier family. News 4's Luke Moretti reports that Army Sergeant Jason Denfrund of Cattaraugus is among the latest local casualties of the war in Iraq.
Diane Wienk, Denfrund's mother, said, "He wished us a Merry Christmas, and to tell us he'd been thinking about us, loved us and missed us."
Diane Wienk is talking about the last phone call home her son made. That was last Wednesday.
On Christmas Day, 24-year-old Sergeant Jason Denfrund died in Iraq after an improvised explosive device detonated.
Randy Wienk, Denfrund's father, said, "He was proud to be there, and serve his country. We're proud of him for that. He's just a hero." Elias Elias Thursday, December 28 2006 San Gabriel Valley Tribune -- GLENDORA - Army Spc. Elias Elias, 27, of Glendora was killed by an explosive detonated near his vehicle Saturday, Department of Defense officials said Wednesday.
Elias, reportedly Glendora's first casualty in the Iraq War, was assigned to the 3rd Squadron, 61st Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, Fort Carson, Colo.
Efforts to reach family members Wednesday were unsuccessful.
City officials have not yet been able to meet with family members and said they are being careful to respect their privacy.
"Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family at this time of loss," said the Rev. Karen Davis, a Glendora city councilwoman. Wilson Algrim Thursday, December 28 2006 Daily Press and Argus -- Judy Algrim remembered when her oldest son, Wilson, would play around the house as a child and pretend to be his favorite superhero.
"He liked Superman," she said. "He used to run around the house in a Superman outfit and pretend that he was flying."
Army Spc. Wilson Algrim grew up to become a real-life hero who served his country in Iraq and made the ultimate sacrifice. On Wednesday, the Department of Defense announced that he died from wounds suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle during combat operations.
"I would say he was gregarious, courageous, curious," said Judy Algrim, when asked to describe Wilson. "He was very friendly and smiled a lot. He was loving and affectionate."
Wilson Algrim was one of three soldiers from Michigan who died on Dec. 23 in Salman Pak, Iraq. Army Spc. Chad J. Vollmer, 24, of Grand Rapids and Army Pvt. Bobby Mejia II, of Saginaw, also died Saturday. All three were assigned to the Michigan Army National Guard First Battalion, 125th Infantry from Big Rapids. Bobby Mejia II Wednesday, December 27 2006 Mlive.com -- Bobby Mejia II loved the classics -- Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck and the Road Runner.
And the Saginaw resident sought to take that joy of art and turn it into a career.
"His dream was to be an artist," his father, Bobby Mejia Sr., said Wednesday of his namesake. "He told me he always wanted to work for the Walt Disney Company. He loved cartoons and animation.
Mejia, 45, lost his only child Saturday when an improvised explosive device detonated near the vehicle that his son and two other soldiers were traveling in during combat operations in Salman Park, Iraq, the Department of Defense reported.
Army Spc. Mejia II was 20.
The three soldiers were assigned to the First Battalion 125th Infantry from Big Rapids.
Mejia II was a 2004 Saginaw High School graduate. His mother is Lovea Hernandez. Ryan L. Mayhan Wednesday, December 27 2006 Marine Lance Corporal Ryan L. Mayhan, 25, Hawthorne, California, was killed in action in Anbar province on December 21, 2006. He was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Twentynine Palms, California. Stephen L. Morris Wednesday, December 27 2006 Houston Chronicle -- A Lake Jackson family spent Christmas Day mourning the loss of a son — a Marine killed Sunday in the line of duty in Iraq.
Stephen Lloyd Morris, 21, was killed in fighting in the Anbar province, said his father, Lloyd Leroy Morris Jr., who was informed of his son's death Sunday evening by two staff sergeants.
"I was hoping they were going to tell me he was injured," he said. "I knew it wasn't going to be good news."
Morris was sent to Iraq about four months ago. He was supposed to return home in March, his father said.
It was the second time Morris had been sent overseas since he joined the Marines about 2 1/2 years ago after graduating high school, his father said. He was in Afghanistan about a year ago.
Fernando S. Tamayo Wednesday, December 27 2006 The Press Enterprise -- Growing up in Fontana, Fernando S. Tamayo never had an enemy but had many friends.
Now, his family and friends are mourning his loss.
Tamayo, a 19-year-old Marine Corps lance corporal, was one of three Marines and a sailor to die Thursday while conducting combat operations in Iraq's Al Anbar Province, the Pentagon announced Tuesday.
"It is very tragic for his family," said Marine 1st Sgt. Bill Toves, a family spokesman. "He was well loved. He never had an enemy growing up."
Tamayo, the youngest in his family, was a driver of a Humvee that was hit by a roadside bomb, Toves said.
He was a member of the 3rd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, 1st Marine Expeditionary Force, or I MEF, based in Twentynine Palms. Joshua D. Sheppard Wednesday, December 27 2006 NewsOK -- QUINTON -- Army Spc. Joshua Sheppard wanted to promise his mother that he'd make it back to Oklahoma and stay.
"He had promised me he would come back," said Julie Young, Sheppard's mother. "He wasn't sure he could keep that promise."
Sheppard, described by his mother as a "peacemaker," was killed Friday during a gun battle in Baghdad, Iraq. Sheppard, 22, and members of his patrol encountered an enemy using small arms fire, Young said. The death remains under investigation by the military.
Sheppard was a member of the 642nd Engineer Support Company out of Fort Drum, N.Y. He began his tour in Iraq on Sept. 15. He had been issued a four-day pass for the Christmas holiday, but was told to he was needed as senior operator on a mission, said Young, who talked to her son a day before he was killed.
She had expected to talk to him Christmas, but instead got news he had died.
"He's a good boy," Young said. "Everybody loved him. I'm just amazed by the outpouring of love we've received from the community."
Curtis L. Norris Wednesday, December 27 2006 The Mercury News -- DANSVILLE, Mich. -- A 28-year-old Lansing-area Army sergeant was killed Saturday in Iraq, devastating the holidays for his family in Michigan.
Curtis L. Norris died in Baghdad of wounds he received when an improvised explosive device went off near his vehicle, the Defense Department said Tuesday.
Instead of celebrating Christmas, William and Connie Norris are planning their son's funeral. The presents in their home sit unopened.
"You don't think about Christmas when this happens," William Norris told the Lansing State Journal.
The Norris family lives in Ingham County's Ingham Township, near Dansville and about 60 miles west of Detroit.
Curtis Norris served with the 210th Brigade Support Battalion, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division out of Fort Drum, N.Y.
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Hopefully these shoeboxes will let the soldiers who receive them know that we care about them and are grateful for their sacrifice. Thanks to everyone involved in making this campaign happen.
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Post by Nancyd021410 on Feb 1, 2007 21:37:03 GMT -6
I approved, and suggested for this article to be put in. I take all responsiblities for this. It's real. We are at war people. It's real. It's scary, sad, but very real. Now, let's do something about it! Get excited, get motivated, get something! Get these shoeboxes to me! Only buying 3 tickets this week, buy MORE if you can. Don't forget the Donations Box, don't forget to get your neighbors shoebox, your local ANYONE, just DO IT...... I know we can, I know it within my heart and in my soul, it's there, in each and everyone of us, to do this and do this right! It's going good, but right now, I'm wanting BETTER. Those soldiers DESERVE better. Ok, I'm off my soapbox now, just please, contribute, give, and love. Nancy
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Post by Nancyd021410 on Feb 18, 2007 19:58:12 GMT -6
Hey guys!! I am on my second tour over here, and I just wanted to say "Thanks" to you guys and all the others who support us over here. We always appreciate support! Thanks for helping out a good cause. As always you guys Rock!!!! SSG Justin Price
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