CARE PACKAGES for our Troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, 2005

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1273305/posts ^ | 2-18-05 | patriciaruth

[Tunehead54]

Is Barbara Fensch the author?

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Dear Patty - here's what I got back ...

Hello (Tunehead54),

Please do not apologize for contacting me. I am happy to help you and I thank you in advance for keeping in touch with our young men and women who defend our country, our freedom every day, for letting them all know that we do care, they do matter to us as they prove to us each day we matter to them.

This is a beautiful poem & like many I felt it was a wonderful way of letting our service men & women know how much I care & how much they matter to me, how much I love each one of them for sacrificing their youth, their lives for us.

Ed ________ – a SwiftBoat (#79?)captain. Please thank your friend Ed _________ for all he gave during his time in VN. Richard Baumberger, BM3 KIA 5/5/69 was my fiancée - 3rd time in VN - taken 36 years ago.

Unfortunately no one seems to know who the author is as you can see from the links below. Even Dr. Laura's web site has it posted as Author Unknown.

http://www.blackfive.net/main/2005/12/a_different_chr.html

http://www.drlaura.com/letters/?mode=view&tile=1&id=10896

Thank you,

Barbara _________

[kattracks]

Mailed to Kirkuk this morning:

3 boxes containing

4 tins butter cookies-50 leis- 95-party hats-70 blowouts-50 tiaras-11 noisemakers-75 horns-1/4 lb. balloons (that's what it said on the package)-96 small plates (red & white)-96 small red napkins-96 red cups-1 red plastic tablecloth-12 boxes Cappuccino mix (8 pkgs per box)-10 Boxes Celestial Seasonings Cinnamon Apple Spice tea (20 bags per box)

[patriciaruth]

Bless your fairy godmother heart!

[patriciaruth]

Thanks for checking up on that.

I posted the poem to one of our soldiers who is probably home now.

Just waiting to get word on if that unit all made it back okay.

Or they may have been held over for the elections and are coming home this week...

We'll see.

[Tunehead54]

Dear Doc,

Since I apparently reminded you about some New Year's decorations you got last year on sale should I mention Valentine's Day is coming up? Got any year old chocolate? ;-)

Just in case - please know I'm just kidding and saying hello, thanks for all you do and good night. :-)

[patriciaruth]

Now that you mention it, I did find a packet of a Russell Stover chocolate marshmallow egg when I cleaned out the trunk of the car recently.

From Easter...must have fallen out of the bag and rolled into the well.

My husband had no qualms about eating it immediately.

Lest you worry, the Valentine's candy is long gone. That was our 25th anniversary and we spent it at a romantic hideaway with a 5 star restaurant.

[kattracks]

Just in case some of you haven't seen this, a prayer request for one of our own.

Go here

[patriciaruth]

Mailed December 17, 2005, to our adopted company of Stryker Brigade at Mosul, 2 boxes
Box 1, insured $70.38, postage $9.90
5 Hickory Farms all-beef summer sausages 1 lb. each
Cheese:
2 lb bricks of Tillamook Medium Cheddar, Monterey Jack, and Colby-Jack
2 baby Gouda 7 oz
2 Havarti 8 oz (one creamy, one with caraway seeds)
People magazine, 2005 review issue (President and Mrs. Bush full page picture/article)*
½ USA Today, Dec 15 issue*

Box 2: almost same as box 1, insured $70.38, postage $9.90
5 Hickory Farms all-beef summer sausages 1 lb. each
Cheese:
2 lb bricks of Tillamook Medium Cheddar, Monterey Jack, and Colby-Jack
2 baby Gouda 7 oz
2 Havarti 8 oz (one plain, one with caraway seeds)
People magazine, different issue
½ USA Today, Dec 15 issue

Mailed December 19, 2005, 8 boxes to Mosul
Box 3, value $22.14, postage $7.70
Keebler’s 3 boxes Club crackers (96x4)
2 lb bag of Jelly Belly jelly beans (35x25)
4 magazines:
3 Weekly Standard (Aug 29, Sept 5, Oct 24) (Border Control, Iraq, CIA Plame affair)*
1 Army magazine, December, 2005

Box 4, value $17.98+7.00 (to disquise DVD), postage $7.70
Box Mauna Loa macadamia nut chocolate chip cookies (bite size) (40x4)
DVD: Forever Young (Mel Gibson)
2 lb. bag of Jelly Belly jelly beans

Box 5, value $8.19, postage $7.70
Box 2 lb 8 oz Wheat Thins crackers (16x36)
2 DVD recordings by MJY1288:
White House Christmas tour with Laura Bush
President Bush, December 7 speech on Iraq
Saturday, December 17, Los Angeles Times (front page, sports, business)*

Box 6, value $22.53, postage $7.70
4 canisters of Kool Aid Tropical Punch sugared mix, each makes 8 qts.
3 bags Klass Guanabana, each makes 6 qts.

Box 7, value $22.53, postage $7.70
4 canisters of Kool Aid Tropical Punch sugared mix, each makes 8 qts
3 bags Klass Tamarindo, each makes 6 qts.

Box 8, value $14.97, postage $7.70
3 boxes of Chips Ahoy chocolate chip cookies, each with 12 packs of 4 cookies

Box 9, value $6.99, postage $7.70
24 small bags Knott’s Berry Farm shortbread cookies (2 oz.)--8 raspberry, 8 boysenberry, and 8 strawberry centers

Box 10, value $12.34, postage $7.70
2 boxes Chips Ahoy chocolate chip cookies with 12 packs of 4 cookies
8 small bags of Knott’s Berry Farm shortbread cookies (2 oz) with apricot centers

*they had requested news magazines, newspapers, even People magazine.

[patriciaruth]

Update:
We had word from our contact at Tal Afar (temporarily in Baghdad due to the election) that 22 boxes had arrived at Tel Afar since his last report. He will be back in Tall Afar just before Christmas, and we’ll probably get more detail then.

Nina0113 mailed the Xbox 100 to Bagram Saturday, December 17, with its extra controller accessory (she’d been penned in by an ice storm prior to that)
Before the ice storm she mailed Playstation2 accessories to the Engineers at Baghdad (4 player accessory and 64-Meg card).

Ican’tbelieveit sent 3 boxes to Mosul, 3 to Tal Afar, back on December 5, see post 1214 for details of cocoa, candy, garlands and entertainment.

Kattracks mailed 3 boxes of New Years paper goods, party favors, food and drink to MI at Kirkuk, see posts 1182.
And today she mailed them 6 Boxes Ritz/Keebler crackers w/ cheese (12 pkgs per box, 4 boxes flavored chips (12 pkgs per box), and 2 boxes Milano cookies (12 pkgs per box).

I mailed 14 boxes of New Years Party goods, food and drink to Mosul, see posts 1156, 1163, and 1188. Also sent one box for New Years to Kirkuk, post 1156.

SENClander mailed a big New Years box to Mosul with 200 envelops of Mott’s hot spiced apple cider mix (original, granny smith, red delicious, and golden delicious), 35 little bags of assorted Keebler’s cookies, two 'Happy New Year' banners, a Far Side 2006 calendar and a Ronald Reagan 2006 calendar.

Any of you who haven’t read the poem by an unknown author that Tunehead54 posted at 1169 should read it. It really begins to hit home after the first 20 verses.

[iceskater]

Do you still need apple cider? I can check at Costco - they've had it in the past but I'm not sure if they still carry it.

[Dante3]

What a nice package you sent.

[kattracks]

Thank you. I think we've all done a really good job.

[kattracks]

~Merry Christmas~

[Abigail Adams]

Hoping our wonderful Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen/women, and Marines have a Merry Christmas and a safe and successful New Year!

God bless 'em, every one!

[patriciaruth]

Christmas in Ramadi.

[Abigail Adams]

Wow, nice pic Patty!

I wonder what's in those wrapped packages?

[patriciaruth]

Those are the packages that the families sent to the soldiers in the unit.

The tree and most of the decorations were sent by mscht and Ros42.

[SwatTeam]

Isn't that a beautiful tree?

[shezza]

Pictures from Christmas Eve in Kabul, Afghanistan here.

[patriciaruth]

Email from BAGRAM air base, AFGHANISTAN. (near Kabul) Good news and very sad news.

*****

Patty,

Sorry for not getting back to you sooner on all the great things you all have done for us. In spite of our tardiness, I can assure you that your generosity is deeply appreciated.

The Xbox did arrive; I'm not much of a gamer, but the kids love it. On the other hand, the coffee has been fabulous. It, along with the games, arrived a while back. Again, apologies for not letting you know sooner. Thank you.

We have a Christmas tree up in my conference room with wonderful decorations; I assume that is from the people you describe below.

I also saw the Karaoke machine, though have not personally participated in any live performances. Believe me, the guys appreciate my discretion in this area.

Please accept my apologies for not being more responsive in letting you know that your gifts have arrived safely. Rest assured, they have not gone unnoticed. My guys are extremely grateful to have friends such as you back home. It truly does mean a great deal to know that folks back home are thinking of us.

I have intended to write you many times, but events seem to always dictate otherwise. With the memorial service for our soldier who was killed a few days ago behind us, perhaps now I can catch up on correspondence.

Thank you so much for your generosity. You are truly appreciated.

***