Thanks to my involvement with anysoldier.com, I met some amazing people on my trip to San Diego. Tuesday night Katie and I had dinner with Darrin, a sailor I supported when he was on the USS Essex in the Persian Gulf in 2004-05. I also corresponded with his wife Becky who was at their duty station in Japan with their two little girls while he was gone. We had kept in touch since then, and he is now stationed in San Diego. We met at a restaurant for dinner, and it was like meeting old friends! They brought the kids, and I held their 5-month-old baby boy all through dinner. We talked non-stop, took pictures, and they gave us a mini-tour of Coronado Island before taking us back to the hotel. He is the fourth anysoldier contact I have met in person.
The next afternoon Katie and I went to Mission Beach. The driver who took us was aking what we had been doing in San Diego, and I told him about our dinner the night before and how I'd gotten to know Darrin. It turned out that he is a pilot and has flown medical transports for wounded military personnel after they returned to the States! He told me I was doing a great thing by sending packages and writing to the troops. He also picked us up for our return trip from the beach, and both times he gave back to me the tip I'd given him to "use for your packages."
When we flew back Thursday, I asked a flight attendant if she would pass out blank postcards to any passengers who would like to thank the troops. I would then include them with packages I send to Iraq and Afghanistan. As fate would have it, another flight attendant was also an anysoldier supporter! Her boyfriend is an Army neurosurgeon who has served 3 tours in Iraq. She made an announcement to the passengers about what I was doing and explained the postcard project. Later when she returned the cards to me (I got 50!!) we talked for 15 minutes, and she showed me pictures of her boyfriend with Iraqi children he had operated on. Her name is Molly, she is from Seattle, and she has sent over 1200 packages to the troops!!
After these experiences, I feel energized and eager to continue my letter writing until my hand falls off!! If you want to help, let me know!! www.anysoldier.com
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2 comments:
I got your package in the mail this weekend! Thank you so much! I was actually running out of my shampoo, perfect timing!
It takes a special person to do all that you and that flight attendant have done for the soldiers!
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