Hello Greybird. Welcome to the USO Canteen FReeper Style. This part of your post cracks me up! hahahahahaha
The Canteen is not just a daily thread on FR. It's a 'place' that exists in cyberspace where active troops and veterans can come for a brief respite and enjoy a taste of home and be supported by people here who love and respect them. Many who wear the uniform of one of our country's military services have found a haven here, a home-away-from-home, that they visit as often as they are able.
The troops' own emails on Mondays express their gratitude far more eloquently than I am able. Perhaps you should read some of the Monday Mail Call threads to get their perspective on what the Canteen is to them. Snow Bunny and her vision for the Canteen are helping so many troops and veterans in ways many can not even imagine.
I also want to address what you term as the 8th grader's "loss of innocence" by asking a solder to "kill Osama bin Laden for me." I was a public affairs officer in the Air Force for 20 years. I served in the theater of operations during Desert Storm and the child's letter asking a soldier to "kill Osama" doesn't suprise or dismay me at all. During ODS, we were able to receive "Any Servicemember" letters, and my unit received countless letters and pictures from kids urging us to "kill Saddam Hussein." Osama is the face of the enemy to American kids just as Saddam was a decade ago. (BTW, an 8th grader is 13-14 years old, and not an innocent child.)
I hope you have a nice day, Greybird.
Jen