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Let’s Say Thanks! Please help us in sending handwritten Christmas (or thank you) cards or letters to our troops -- the troops have said how much more a handwritten card means to them! Let's show the troops we truly appreciate the sacrifices they have made and are still making for us, and that we support and haven't forgotten them through all of the difficult situations they're experiencing! There’s a terrific new Hallmark movie out about this subject called "A Christmas Card". “Once in a while, a movie comes along that reminds us how powerful love can be. In the midst of war in http://www.amazon.com/Christmas-Card-Ed-Asner/dp/B000TGUUFA Ed Asner: Send holiday cards to the troops - http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15991894/ http://www.americasupportsyou.mil/AmericaSupportsYou/Content.aspx?ID=44715205&SectionID=1 Below is a summary of the addresses (from below) to which you can send cards or letters to our troops. Please note that the Post Office will not deliver mail that is addressed only to "Any Soldier", etc. unless there is also an actual person's name or job classification somewhere in the address (for example, "Commanding Officer").
Injured troops:
(Spc. Kevin Hardin, who was seriously wounded in Any Soldier Inc. ATTN: Kevin Hardin
(Joshua received death wish while being treated at Walter Reed http://michellemalkin.com/2005/12/23/good-wishes-for-pfc-joshua-sparling/ http://michellemalkin.com/archives/004021.htm) Joshua Sparling c/o
(Bundle multiple cards in one big manila envelope and send them to the Red Cross office at Red Cross Heaton Pavillion 3EO5
(VFW Post 8208 will accept and deliver cards and gifts to the patients at Walter Reed and John Miska CDR VFW Post 8208
Please don't forget to send some cards to our troops still in harm's way:
You can obtain the addresses of up to two Active Duty soldiers a day from this link to send cards to. The site lists the number of times each address has been requested, and states that approximately one requestor out of five actually sends anything. It lists the number of people in the group, so you can address one card or letter to the soldier's name given, address the ones for the other soldiers in the group "Dear Soldier", then bundle them in an outer larger envelope addressed to the soldier's name and address that you are given. If you aren't mailing the cards, letters or gifts the same day, remember to check again on the day that you mail them, as soldiers are on the move and addresses frequently change: http://www.anysoldier.com/WhereToSend/ Address the card or package exactly as shown on each page in "Where to Send". Example: SGT Johnny B. Rock Attn: Any Soldier HHC, 123rd Grenade Repair Bn (Of course, the above is a bogus address to give you an idea that military addresses don't look like yours.) If your letter is for a Soldier other than the contact you address it to, PLEASE start your letter "Dear Soldier" not "Dear SGT Smith" as on the address. The contact passes the mail out to folks around him or her and when that service member opens the letter it will feel better without the contact's name on it. There is not one thing on this site that requires you to send stuff. Letters are THE MOST requested thing by these Soldiers. So, all you need do is send a normal letter in a normal envelope with a normal stamp. Good ideas: If you want, put your email address in your letter, many Soldiers can and prefer to reply that way. What to write? Too easy: like you are talking to a friend, because that is what that Soldier is going to be real quick. It is also VERY helpful if you leave your full return address (and email address, if you wish) as part of your letter, envelopes tend to get trashed quickly. Please do not require answers, as the soldiers are sometimes too busy to respond, but many times they do. See http://www.anysoldier.com/HowToSend.cfm if you want more information.
From the editor of http://www.anysoldier.com/News.cfm
PLEASE READ this email I got on Thanksgiving: "I am the proud Army mom of Spc. Kevin Hardin, who was seriously wounded in If you can help, please contact Marty at AnySoldier.com, and thank you so very much for your generosity. God bless, Terry Hardin (Proud Army Mom of Spc. Kevin Hardin)" Folks, we are doing this as an exception. Our Thanksgiving was special for reasons I will tell you here soon, Terry's was difficult to say the least. We will accept donations specifically for the Hardin family effective immediately. *** Article from Jupiter Courier (http://www.anysoldier.com/News.cfm): Thankful to be alive Jupiter family, friends rally around soldier wounded in BY KIT BRADSHAW Army Spc. Kevin Hardin was serving in Delta Company, 3rd Battalion, 8th Cavalry in
Spc. Kevin Hardin is flanked by his parents, Charles and Terry Hardin of Jupiter, after he was airlifted from Charles and Terry Hardin of Jupiter don't know if their son, Army Spc. Kevin Hardin, 21, will regain full use of his left arm. They don't know how much the shrapnel lodged in his head will affect his life or his memory. They're not sure if he will be able to get a prosthetic device to replace his right thumb. But they do know they are thankful their son is alive. "It is only through God's goodness that we have Kevin," said Terry Hardin. "Our other sons — Kenny, Kyle and Keith — have really stepped up, especially Kyle and Keith because they are only 16 and 14 and are still home. "They help me when their dad is with Kevin. And when they go up to Now the family is thankful for Congressman Tim Mahoney and Jupiter Mayor Karen Golonka who recently visited Kevin at Walter Reed. It was during this visit that Golonka asked if he needed anything, and Hardin said he'd love a laptop computer, since his was AWOL since the ambush in "I asked Mike if there was anything the Jupiter-Tequesta Rotary could do," Golonka said, referring to her husband, Mike Grella. It didn't take long for the Rotarians to respond. Within days, the local membership had a new computer for Kevin, thanks to the efforts of DriveGuys Computer Sales and Service. "They gave us a great deal," said Rotary treasurer Ron Johnson. "We had a budget of $500, and they sold us a computer worth much, much more than that for $499, and put in all the upgrades, including WiFi." Tim Mahoney's office took the ball from there, and delivered the laptop to Kevin last Friday at the hospital. Kevin Hardin was injured Sept. 30, during an ambush in Samarra, north of Baghdad, when Russian made anti-tank rocket missed the tank in the convey and hit the Humvee that Hardin was driving. "Kevin was the only one really injured, and the gunner saved his life since he was bleeding so badly," said Terry Hardin. "They used the techniques he had taught them as a medic and kept yelling 'Doc's down' — that's what they called the medics. They told him to hang on, and he said it was one of the hardest things he ever did, to stay awake." The ambush left the young Hardin with shrapnel in his brain, which his parents say is affecting his short-term memory, a shattered left arm —"it's like it was crystal and someone dropped it on cement," his father said — the loss of two fingers on his right hand, including his thumb and pieces of shrapnel in his face, which his mother said will eventually work their way out and be removed. Since his son was injured, Charles Hardin has been by Kevin's side. As a result, Charles Hardin lost his job as a security guard. He is in line for a new job, but the family is still struggling, since this is a two-income family. Terry Hardin works for a "He doesn't have any feeling in his left arm because of the nerve damage," the senior Hardin said. "And he has trouble with short term memory. "But we won't know how bad this is until he is transferred to the VA hospital in Charles Hardin said that when Kevin is in Terry adds that Kevin is still in good spirits. "Even while he was in the hospital, he wanted to reenlist, and the only reason he didn't is that the computers were down that day. Thank goodness for that," she added. The entire "We're thankful he wasn't injured any worse that he was," said Charles. "He's different, more serious than he was before he went to "We have to put things in perspective," said Terry. "We are thankful we have our son with us. So many parents don't have their sons and daughters with them because of this war." Mail your donation to: Any Soldier Inc. ATTN: The Hardin Family http://www.anysoldier.com/News.cfm By the way, if you wish to send cards, use the address above until Terry is able to get a PO Box. Thanks!!! (Please make payable to, "Terry Hardin") Or you can make donations and order items online with a credit card or check using this: http://www.anysoldier.com/News.cfm
Be SURE you mention this is for the Hardin Family in the comments of the order form. By the way, if you wish to send cards, use the address above until Terry is able to get a PO Box. Thanks!!! *** http://michellemalkin.com/2005/12/23/good-wishes-for-pfc-joshua-sparling/ http://michellemalkin.com/archives/004021.htm According to Kilmeade, who visited Walter Reed on Friday, a US Army soldier named Joshua Sparling received the death wish while recovering from a gunshot wound he received in Joshua Sparling c/o Do it today. I called Walter Reed and was told that the patients appreciated calling cards especially at Christmas time. I am sending him a card with several calling cards to distribute to other patients in his ward. Anyone else interested in doing the same for others at Walter Reed? Call and get a soldier’s name to send a card. The number is (202)782-3501. I am sending a get well card, a Christmas card and $240.00 in phone cards for Joshua to keep and/or distribute to his buddies. Anyone want to match me and send some to other soldiers at Walter Reed? *** Bigjohn Miska Says: We here at VFW POST 8208, Bigjohn John Miska CDR VFW Post 8208 Thank you Bigjohn Miska! I will be sending a bunch of cards I just finished to go - a friend emailed me the link to here to NOT send to Walter Reed. I think it is heinous that they will not deliver them - and greatly appreciate your service for accepting & taking them to the soldiers. It would not be appropriate for me to send “I’m sorry you were injured” note to someone who never was, in another military action. Thank you for all your hard work on this site - it is wonderful! -- Karentia Thank you, John. I am a 3rd grade teacher and my students sent letters along w/their pictures to the injured soldiers at Walter Reed. They’ve been asking me every day if the soldiers have responded yet, just today I received the students’ letters back in the mail with the word “rejected” on the front. They will just be devastated. I am going to forward these letters on to you along w/a cover letter. My class and I would be so grateful if you could deliver them to the recovering soldiers. My class put a lot of thought into them. Also, I sent a Harry and David treat tower to Walter Reed and have not heard anything back, does that mean they’ve accepted that but not the letters? Thank you so much for your help. KWilson I called Walter Reed to find out the best way to send a bunch of cards to soldiers, and was directed to the Red Cross office at Walter Reed. The gentleman I spoke to said to bundle multiple cards in one big manila envelope and send them to the Red Cross office and they will distribute them. He was a nice man who is a wounded soldier himself. The address I was given is: Red Cross Heaton Pavillion 3EO5 The man said they can also use stamps, gloves and stocking caps at the Red Cross office there. Any Soldier Inc. - Where to Send: http://www.anysoldier.com/WhereToSend/ Let's Say Thanks: http://www.letssaythanks.com/Home.html Soldiers Angels Forums: http://soldiersangelsforum.com/index.php?name=Sections&op=viewarticle&artid=14 Once in a while, a movie comes along that reminds us how powerful love can be. In the midst of war in http://www.amazon.com/Christmas-Card-Ed-Asner/dp/B000TGUUFA Ed Asner: Send holiday cards to the troops - http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15991894/ http://www.americasupportsyou.mil/AmericaSupportsYou/Content.aspx?ID=44715205&SectionID=1 Operation Gratitude: http://www.opgratitude.com/index.php Many Links for supporting our troops, sending cards, gifts, adopt a soldier: http://fetchingjen.blogspot.com/2006/12/gifts-for-our-troops-this-christmas.html Students make holiday cards for troops: http://www4.army.mil/ocpa/read.php?story_id_key=8282 A Different Christmas Poem
The embers glowed softly, and in their dim light, I gazed round the room and I cherished the sight. My wife was asleep, her head on my chest, My daughter beside me, angelic in rest. Outside the snow fell, a blanket of white, Transforming the yard to a winter delight. The sparkling lights in the tree I believe, Completed the magic that was Christmas Eve. My eyelids were heavy, my breathing was deep, Secure and surrounded by love I would sleep. In perfect contentment, or so it would seem, So I slumbered, perhaps I started to dream. The sound wasn't loud, and it wasn't too near, But I opened my eyes when it tickled my ear. Perhaps just a cough, I didn't quite know, Then the sure sound of footsteps outside in the snow. My soul gave a tremble, I struggled to hear, And I crept to the door just to see who was near. Standing out in the cold and the dark of the night, A lone figure stood, his face weary and tight. A soldier, I puzzled, some twenty years old, Perhaps a Marine, huddled here in the cold. Alone in the dark, he looked up and smiled, Standing watch over me, and my wife and my child. "What are you doing?" I asked without fear, "Come in this moment, it's freezing out here! Put down your pack, brush the snow from your sleeve, You should be at home on a cold Christmas Eve!" For barely a moment I saw his eyes shift, Away from the cold and the snow blown in drifts To the window that danced with a warm fire's light Then he sighed and he said "It’s really all right, I'm out here by choice. I'm here every night." "It's my duty to stand at the front of the line, That separates you from the darkest of times. No one had to ask or beg or implore me, I'm proud to stand here like my fathers before me. My Gramps died at ' Then he sighed, "That's a Christmas 'Gram always remembers." My dad stood his watch in the jungles of ' And now it is my turn and so, here I am. I've not seen my own son in more than a while, But my wife sends me pictures; he's sure got her smile. Then he bent and he carefully pulled from his bag, The red, white, and blue... an American flag. I can live through the cold and the being alone, Away from my family, my house and my home I can stand at my post through the rain and the sleet, I can sleep in a foxhole with little to eat. I can carry the weight of killing another, Or lay down my life with my sister and brother Who stand at the front against any and all, To ensure for all time that this flag will not fall." "So go back inside," he said, "harbor no fright, Your family is waiting and I'll be all right." "But isn't there something I can do, at the least, "Give you money," I asked, "or prepare you a feast? It seems all too little for all that you've done, For being away from your wife and your son." Then his eye welled a tear that held no regret, "Just tell us you love us, and never forget To fight for our rights back at home while we're gone, To stand your own watch, no matter how long For when we come home, either standing or dead, To know you remember we fought and we bled Is payment enough, and with that we will trust, That we mattered to you as you mattered to us." PLEASE, Would you do me the kind favor of sending this (you may copy and paste this webpage) to as many people as you can? Christmas will be coming soon and some credit is due to our U.S.service men and women for our being able to celebrate these festivities. Let's try in this small way to pay a tiny bit of what we owe. Make people stop and think of our heroes, living and dead, who sacrificed themselves for us. LCDR Jeff Giles, SC, USN 30th Naval Construction Regiment OIC, Logistics Cell One Al Taqqadum,
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