***Pictures from our care package Soldiers****

[SoCalDem]

Big Thanks to AnnabelLee for e-mailing them to me so I could post them..

If she wants to share her letter, she can add it to this thread..


The soldier she sent to was Mike.. He was born in Poland, and joined because of 9/11..

One thing I will share is that when they do write, do not be surprised if they are "gung-ho" about what they are doing..

Remember that they are "forcefed Fox and Rush" on their military bases, so they have little access to outside news.. and They HAVE to believe, in order to stay sane :(..


Picture 1: On point for the nation! Hooaa!

Picture 2: A routine checkpoint/M240

Picture 3: Me (white guy in corner) and the guys on the C-17 on our way to Iraq (April 9)

Picture 4: Here we are in front of the Bradley (which Caldwell drives) along with Kurdish military guys

[Samuraimad]

1. Thats great

thanks for sharing!

[G_j]

2. Wow

thanks for sharing, though it gives me a great feeling of saddness to view them.

[proud patriot]

3. Thanks SoCalDem

I went to my grandparents house and was so proud to tell
them , I've adopted a soilder .

Again Thanks for the oppertunity to help :hi:

[SoCalDem]

4. Next week I hope to have more names..

:)

[proud patriot]

10. Opportunity

shoot it's too late to edite my post , I meant opportunity

[Deb]

5. What a handsome crew!

Thanks so much for sharing.

We haven't heard anything yet but not giving up. I'm glad to know they are receiving the packages, I was beginning to wonder. We have another package almost ready to go.

[AnnabelLee]

6. Kick for the day people

I've been debating with myself about sharing Mike's letter...& I've decided that I wouldn't feel comfortable doing it. Not that he said anything weird, or anything like that, but he had no idea that his words might be read by anyone besides me, & I feel that it wouldn't be fair to him to reprint his letter.

One really sad thing, though, is that he spent his 21st birthday in Kirkuk.:-(

Thanks, SoCalDem, for posting these pictures! The last one, in particular, makes me very sad. I can't put it into words, but there's something about it that just gives me a feeling of foreboding...:-(

[bicentennial_baby]

7. Thanks!

I'm going shopping for my packages this evening!

[SoCalDem]

8. kick again

:)

[Jaybird]

9. kick.... n/t

[SoCalDem]

11. one last time.. I wish we still had "views"

I would hate to think that the DUers had lost interest in our guys :(

[Madrone]

12. SoCal -

I was one of the people you sent the original names to, and before I got paid and could purchase care package items you had stated that you would have other names available so I decided to wait. The guys you initially mentioned seemed to be well taken care of by others already :)

Anyway - just wanted to note that I am still looking forward to some names and will appreciate a note to my inbox at which time you receive them. THanks again!

[SoCalDem]

14. check your in box, please

I sent you some names :)

[aquart]

21. Do the names come with addresses?

Where do we send to?

[SoCalDem]

22. I sent you the names I have... check your inbox

:)

[bicentennial_baby]

13. Just got back from shopping

Here's what I picked up:

Gatorade powder
Laundry Tabs
Socks
Disposable Razors
Toothbrushes
Toothpaste
Soap
Deodorant
Playing Cards
Phone Cards
Snack food (no chocolate or perishables)
Sunscreen
Ziploc storage bags
Q-Tips
Writing paper


Still need to get stamps and magazines, I'll probably send them on Saturday via Priority.

[AnnabelLee]

15. The soldiers can mail letters for free

So if you bought the stamps for them, they don't need 'em.:-)

SoCalDem, I'd hate to think there was no interest in our soldiers, too.

Edited 'cuz I used the wrong word.

[SoCalDem]

16. I thought they did not need stamps..

I remembered from the military ballot fiasco, that someone said military did not need stamps..

Paper & envelopes are a good idea though..


I snitched some of those test cardboard things from the perfume counter and sprayed them with the testors of some good smelling men's cologne.. put them in a ziploc.. Maybe they would enjoy something other than sweat :)

[bicentennial_baby]

18. Good!

I'll get a few disposable cameras instead of stamps!

[aquart]

24. Mineral Ice!

It just occurred to me. I put it on pulse points on hot nights so I can get cool enough to sleep.

[spotbird]

17. Wet wipes are in demand.

I understand, as well as TP.

[Mel]

29. where did you find

gatorade powder? I've looked everywhere!
I sent packages about 4 Mondays ago to two of the soldiers and that's the one thing I could not find!!

[bicentennial_baby]

30. Ugh, I hate to admit it...

The ONLY place I could find it was...Walmart. I really did'nt want to break my boycott, but it was for a good cause, and I know they really want it over there.

[Mel]

32. thanks

I would of never went to Walmart but the guys are worth it. I can break the rules for them.

[SoCalDem]

33. Crystal light also makes an electrolyte drink..

I did not want to waste the space with a big old can of gatorade, so I sent it instead..

Try Big Lots (formerly pic n save) and the 99c stores..

Lots of times they have stuff there that you cannot find in other stores and it's cheaper too :)

[Hell Hath No Fury]

19. SoCal...

I'm feeling stoopid -- did you send something to my PM box and am I missing it?

Thanks!

[SoCalDem]

20. check your inbox.. I re sent them :)

:)

[aquart]

23. Thank you for the names!

What do they need besides Wet Wipes?

[SoCalDem]

26. Anything that "travels" well and doesn't melt from the heat

crackers
magazines...nothing overtly political or sexy
disposable razors
deodorant
soap, laundry soap tablets
peanut butter in squeeze tubes
instant drink mixes..(electrolyte replacement mixes especially)
white socks
baby wipes
AA & AAA batteries
disposable cameras
phone cards.. make sure it's international
paper, envelopes, cheap pens
crossword puzzle books
cards
travel games (small handheld games )
paperback books
dental floss, toothpaste, toothbrush
there's a cool product called dental dots that I sent
chapstick
insect repellant (deet)
I sent (and Jimmy's parents send) beenie weenies, indiv servings og Chef boyardee stuff
Pringles
pretzels,nuts etc


just wander into a dollar store or a pic n save, or a grocery store and you'll see lots of stuff

[VolcanoJen]

25. Thank you so much for sharing these pictures!!!!

Big ups to SoCalDem and AnnabelLee.

And to Mike, above all.

[RamboLiberal]

27. Yay - got a letter today from soldier I sent package to

I was thrilled to see that in the mailbox today. He enclosed an Iraqi money bill with Saddam's pic and my soldier's name with Operation Iraqi Freedom.

I think my soldier agrees with us - it's a hellhole and let's get him out of there ASAP!

He's a 23 year old from NYC originally from Jamaica (I think - his writing is only slightly better than mine(that's why I typed mine on my PC)). He's a Yankees and NY Giants fan, I kinda track the Giants since one of their linebackers is a kid from my hometown HS. Next package my guy is getting a Steeler's football :evilgrin:

Next week I'm going to get my coworkers involved in sending another package to this soldier and his friends.

[cmd]

28. I have four boxes almost ready to go and enough for four more

If you get more addresses please PM me.

[JohnKleeb]

31. SoCal, Annabell, and all this is really great what you all did

[Changenow]

34. Would you please PM me with a name and address.

It would be a fantastic lesson for me and the kids. Thanks so much.

[SoCalDem]

36. Please check your inbox ...n/t

:)

[spotbird]

40. Got it, thanks.

My package is ready to go. My daughter thought the "new guy" would be the best choice so you may wish to take his name off you list since he has a package on the way.

How long do they take to get there?

[SoCalDem]

45. I think it takes a week to 10 days

and probably a bit longer for a reply, since we don't know how "busy" they are or if they are out on patrol.:(

[Corgigal]

35. I would like to do the same thing

As a Veteran I'm aware of how nice it is to get things from home.
If you can tell me how to do this then I can start shopping for them.

[newyawker99]

37. kick

:kick:

[SoCalDem]

38. Another item to consider sending.,.....

samll toys for the children they might encounter..

small tops,coloring books, markers (crayons will MELT),little beanie baby-type toys, little cars.

I would stay away from the dolls.. The fact that they are so anglo and mostly immodest, might not go over well.. I guess if one could find smallish dark skinned (hispanic or native american looking dolls, might look enough like arabic coloriing to not offend the parents):shrug:

[proud patriot]

39. I got a package off

on Thursday last week ..:D

I hope it makes it there soon .

Again thanks for the opportunity to
support our troops first hand .

[FireHeart]

41. We got our package off...

I hope he got it. There's no way to tell, but I do hope he's enjoying the package. Gotta do something for those guys and gals over there.

[darkstar]

42. SoCal Dem

Big sincere thanx for what you've done and the continuation of yr efforts.

Please PM me w/ list and instructions to follow.

Thanks so much for EVERYTHING.

[janx]

43. I love how he scrawled "Caldwell" and "ME"

on the first pic, with arrows!

This is a great post.

[SoCalDem]

44. On the bottom picture it's striking how much Jimmy looks like his Dad

The top one is too small to see the resemblance, but on the last one, he looks exactly like a younger "Dad"..
Mary brought a big scrapbook the other night of pictures that he had sent, and I sent her these via e-mail..

She is so worried that she won't even watch the news, and when she hears the word soldier or Iraq on the radio , she turns it off :(..

[janx]

46. I don't know who Jimmy's dad is, but I noticed that he scrawled

in the last pic, too! I missed that the first time.

[SoCalDem]

48. OOps.. Jimmy Caldwell is the son of friends of ours

I have known Jimmy since he was about 6 or 7 yrs old..:)

That info was in a much earlier thread.. I got these names from his Mom, via Jimmy :)

[Uzybone]

47. I hope they make it out in good health

at my job we do a care package thing for the troops every month since we invaded Iraq.