Les,
I received your care package and I wanted to drop you
a line to thank you and the Free State Homebrewers Club Guild. I sure could
go for a few cold beers right about now, but that will have too wait until
later this year. Thanks again for supporting the troops. You are all
great Americans and we appreciate your patriotism.
Thanks
V/r,
1SG Duane Diven
Company A 1- 175thIN
Q-West Base Camp, Iraq
Les,
I wanted to drop you a quick note to let you know that I received
your care package yesterday. Thank you so much, for the coffee and
other treats. It was also good to see the picutes of the Christmas party,
the picture with Jim and Shelly reminds me of how much I miss hanging
out with all of you, it will not be long before we can hang out again.
Again Thanks,
Hayes
Dear Any Soldier Supporter,
I am the wife of SSG Brian Prochnow,
Recently Brian had to Convoy into a larger base to help them fix some of their equipment and work on some of theirs that they have been having trouble with. While he was there, he had access to a post office and mailed me home a box of the letters that he has received and a paper in it with many names, addresses and E-mail addresses of the people that have written to him or sent him and the men with him letters while they has been in Iraq. He asked me to please get a large map of the United States and some small stickers so that our you ng daughters could mark each town on the map where he has heard from people. He thought they would really like it, and he wanted it for when he gets home. They have had so much fun finding the towns we have had to use the internet, to find many of the small towns it has been quite an adventure for us.
I have spent this whole afternoon going through the box, I have just been truly amazed at the outpouring of kindness that has been received by the soldiers, it has been a very emotional afternoon for me. I have been so touched that I pulled out every letter that had an E-mail address and the page that Brian sent me with the E-mail address on it because I wanted to thank you so much!!!!
I know many of you probably have family, friends or loved ones that are serving our country, so I am sure that you must feel some of the same emotions and heart ache that my family experiences. It has for sure been the hardest year of our lives. We are so proud of Brian, but we miss him terribly. Brian and I have been married for almost 15 years and have 4 children ranging in age from 13 to 8 and they miss their father terribly and miss having him here, being their scout leader, their coach and support at all the activities they participate in. Mostly they just miss having their dad. I will not lie to you, it has been very hard, but it has also given us a deep, deep appreciation for a man that we love dearly as well as for the United States and the men and woman who have given of themselves and their lives to protect her.
Brian has been gone almost a year now. He was deployed at the end of June 2004 and we do not expect him home until some time the first of 2006. Some how reading your letters and the things that Brian has told me about you, just made it all seem so much more worth it.
Brian says that they live for the days that mail comes through to their FOB. He tells me how much joy and stre ngth it brings each one of them. He has a lot of really young soldiers with him only 19 and 20, who really need the morale boost that your letters and packages bring.
Thank you, Thank you, God Bless you and Protect you for your kindness. Brian’s communication systems had been down for quite a long time ago a few weeks ago,(it is very sporadic and seems to go out all the time for long stretch’s at a time, and I was looking through the anysoldier site trying to find anyone near Kirkuk that I could see pictures or anything that would help me feel closer to him, while I could not hear from him. I about fell out of my chair when I opened a soldier’s site and Brian’s picture popped up on the screen. I could not believe it. I called to my children to come and see and then just sat and wept. It was the first picture I had seen of him since he has been in Iraq. He has a camera, but not enough computer time or the capability to load pictures on the Inter net and send them to us, ad of course nowhere to develop film. I cannot attach the picture because I am on a free Internet service and it will not allow me to send attachments to my E-mails. I thought that since all of you had been so good to write to him and support him that you may like to see the pictures of him and some of the other men that are benefiting from you kindness. If you go on to the anysoldier site and go to listed by names and pull up the name of 2LT Jeremy Jay Shepherd, you will find the pictures of a day that they spent at a school in Kirkuk giving toys and school supplies to the children there. Brian wrote to me and told me the kids were so excited, they are so poor and have nothing. They have more humanitarian missions like this planned. I think it is so good for the people there as well as the soldiers to be able to see their Joy as it lifts their spirits as well. In the Pictures, the very first picture on the site with al l the soldiers standing together, Brian is the first soldier on the left. In the 4th picture, which shows 3 soldiers handing things out to the children, Brian is the soldier in the very middle with the beanie babies in his hands. I just thought you might enjoy seeing them.
Once again, Thank you so much and God Bless you!!!!!
Cheryl Prochnow,
Morgan Utah
Thank you again; I just cannot express how grateful I am to you!!!!
Dear Les,
Thank you for the kindness of your care package. The items you sent does let us know that we are not forgotten. I am glad to know that there are people back home willing to support and give kind words to us as we assist the Iraqi People.
We were all surprised to see that you were a Homebrewers Club. I live in the Pacific Northwest where we have an appreciation for good Microbrew. I also liked the paper you sent with the package.
I am a member of the 313th Military Police Detachment Stationed in centeral Iraq. We were delpoyed in SEP 04 and will be here until they give us orders to return, they have stipulated approximately a year in duration. We are a Reserve unit origina ting in Las Vegas, NV. Our unit has brought together many soldiers from California, Idaho, Washington, Arizona, and New Mexico to fulfill the mission we are currently serving. We have a very critical mission that will assist the Iraqi's in securing a new free nation. With each passing week, we are drawing closer to American Soldiers coming home to be with their families.
You are a God Blessing and your small acts of kindness do make a difference in the lives of those you touch. Everyone has the ability to make a change, even when you dont know the people you are helping.
I have a daily interaction with the Iraqi people and know that we are making a difference. I find it very facinating to learn about their culture and family values. The Iraqi people have the basic desires of security, freedom, family, food, and shelter that everyone in world wants, regardless of their geographical location.
Thank you again for your kindness and caring, everyone in the 313th MP Det
greatly appreciates you and your family.
Sincerely,
Philip T. Ayles
SSG, USA
Squad Leader
"Of the troops and for the troops"
Hello,
I am SPC Randy Cox, a soldier currently serving in Iraq. Last week, I received
your care package of magazines, snacks and personal care items. When the box
arrived and with the markings "Traditional Dark", I wondered what might have
been sent. Thank you greatly for you time and effort to assemble these items
and for choosing our unit to receive these goods. It is wonderful that your
guild takes care of others in your community with proceeds and donations from
your holiday party. Even if we are 6,000 miles away, we are honored that you
have included us in your offerings.
I can definitely say that you got your information correct about what is needed over here. Within a day the platoons that received the boxes had gone through them. There is not much here in the form of entertainment, so the magazines will be a welcome addition our Troop. The Biblical Archaeology Review is not a title that I had seen before. It is still hard to believe that we are here in the land of Mesopotamia; Babylon is only 25km south of our Forward Operations Base (FOB).
My unit is Troop A 98Cavalry, about 130 soldiers. We are from Mississippi, most of us from the northwest part of the state. Our job is to serve as the Scouts for the 155 Brigade Combat Team, 4000 soldiers from Mississippi, Vermont and Fort Irwin, California. We operate an area 30 miles south of Baghdad, Iraq.
If there is anything that I might be able to do for you please let me know at this e-mail address - -----@us.army.mil
Again, THANK YOU for your dedication to service men and women, leaving their families with the hope that sons and daughters will not have to endure the same in their lifetimes.
Respectfully,
Randall S. Cox
Specialist, U.S. Army
Dear Les I just wanted to write a few lines to let you know that my men and I received a care package in your name. Everything we received was well used. From all the men of the Iraqi Police Transition Team we appreciate everything you do for us. Just to give you an idea who we are, we are an 11 man team stationed in Germany who were selected to act as advisors and trainers to the Iraqi Special Police. Kinda like the Iraq version of our SWATT. We look foreward to the useful items we receive from great Americans such as yourself. It makes this all worth while. Take care and hope to hear from you soon.
Rob Biggers
2nd Bn 4th P.O.B.(SPTT)
APO AE 09361
