Here is a little what a few of the men and women that have received packages of support have had to say that have gotten a box from us already.

Good morning and how are you? My name is Sgt Torres. Gunny Dibona passed your email address to me to take over after his departing the "good times" we are having out here. I just wanted to say hi and introduce myself. Gunny Dibona was very grateful for everything you sent him and he always shared with the rest of the troops. So now the torch has been passed on and I will be sure to do the same. Have a good week and thank you for all you are doing to show your support.

Sgt T
MALS 26

Thank you for the coffee donation! Your thoughtfulness and Boca Java’s coffee made a lot of Marines, Soldiers, and Airman happy today! If nothing else, the coffee makes this place smell better.

Wow! You all aren't messing around with this stuff. We are happy with just about anything we get, it is enough for us to think that folks back home are thinking of us and take time to put stuff like this together.

As you can see we are pretty much from all over the states. Oddly enough we have a lot of people from Oregon this time around. As I said we sure do appreciate the support. We look forward to hearing from you all.

Than you in advance for your support. Joe Privitera raved about the awesome job that you all did when they were here. The kind of incoming you are talking about would greatly be appreciated. I am enclosing a team photo as it will you all a chance to put some names to faces.

I just wanted to thank you for your support, concern, and generosity. It means a lot to me out here in Iraq. I am grateful to you, and others who support us out here. Without the love from home, it wouldn’t be worth coming out here.

I received you package today. Very much appreciated. Those items are very hard to come by here.. but it makes life a little more comfortable. As matter fact.. my favorite candy is orange tic-tacs. r/ CWO Susan

How are you doing today? I was talking to our Chaplain today and he mentioned that he knows of two other Marine/Sailor that has not received any mail and if I knew of a way to get him connected with someone to write to. I couldn't stop smiling waiting for him to finish his problem at hand. I said "Sir, you have no idea what I have in store for that Marine and Sailor, we are going to get them so connected". He was happy to hear about the support that all of you have been giving us. If you could please send the names of my Marine and Sailor out for adoption I would appreciate it.

I will see that they get evenly distributed. This is really awesome as we have some Marines who receive nothing. Again, you are awesome to keep us in your thoughts and prayers.

I just talked to the battalion admin/mail clerk and he told me that he does not get any mail. How ironic he is the one who handles hundreds of pieces of mail but none of it is for him. His name is LCpl J S and he is from Georgia. He is a great kid. If you ladies could help me out getting him a pen pal I would appreciate it. I have attached of photo of him.

I wanted to tell you I received another package from you. I thank you from the bottom of my heart. The stuff was passed out in a matter minutes and as always put a smile on all of their faces. We are so grateful for people like you and I want you to know how much we appreciate the support from the home front.

The Marines continue to work hard every day over here. Never hear one complaint. They are happy to be serving and I am even happier serving with these wonderful warriors!

My Platoon Commander, Chief Warrant Officer, wanted me to be sure to extend his thanks and appreciation for your support. His email is down at this time and he is unable to send his personal thanks. Your support for our troops means as much to us as it does to the Marines themselves. I did let one Marine know today that he would be getting some mail soon. He made a comment about not getting anything in the mail for the holidays and I told him that someone does appreciate him and that he would be getting something. I didn't give him any other information but I will be sure to take pictures and email them to you once these Marines get their packages. Once again, thank you very much for your support. Be sure to let the others behind the scenes know that we thank them as well.

From the Frontlines 1st Marine Division. This was the Unit that suffered the first combat casualty. It was the 2nd Lt. Here is some of what he has to say:
How are things back there? We are seeing the importance of mail now. It's something that my generation doesn't often experience, because we're so used to having e-mail and cell phones. I can see an incredible difference between a Marine who hasn't heard from his girl yet and one whose girl writes him all the time. You almost wish that you could call these chicks and make them understand how they could make a Marine's week with only 10 minutes of their time. You know what I mean? (Lt Josh)

From One of the Marines on the Truman:
MaryAnn,
I just wanted to let you know that we got our package about 2 days ago, and we loved it, we fought over who got what..lol. We appreciated it very much, thank you for everything.

V/R
LCpl

From GM3Yaklin On the Truman:
Ms. Merritt,
Thank you for your nice package.......it really means a lot! There is nothing more satisfying than receiving a package from caring people at home like yourself.

From the Dad of one of the Marines I send to the Unit:
Great news. We just got a call from Camp Pendleton. The company chaplain had gotten to use a reporter's phone to call and report the following:

-There have been no serious casualties since last Friday's engagement.
- All members of the company are accounted for
-They have averaged 2-4 hours of sleep per night since crossing the LOD (line of departure)
- They are "digging in" for now
-A huge shipment of letters and packages arrived today . Quote" you won't believe what that did for morale, keep it coming, it was wonderful, they ignored the food while they were getting the mail". That's the reason they make mail such a priority in this situation ---nothing like it!

As a side note, I had sent Josh a "grabass" package some tome ago with some kites, golf balls, nerf balls and water balloon launchers -- thinking they might be delayed in launching the attack. If that got there today, watch for some kites from the AmTracks.

Thanks so much for everyone's support -- first the prayers and then for whatever goodies they are enjoying tonight!!

So you can help make a difference in those who have volunteered to honorably serve our Country.