Socks for Soldiers

     Our country has been engaged in the longest war in its history.  The war in Afghanistan is about to turn 11.  Now, I'm not going to get into whether or not I support the war but I will tell you that I whole heartily support the honest troops over there.  I had two grandfathers fight in WWII.  My Grandpa Ahlers, who is still raising hell at 95, was in the Army. 

Looking good Grandpa!

He was stationed in Hawaii and was sent over to Germany to build bridges.  When the bridge's purpose was done they would blow them up so the enemy couldn't take advantage of their handy work.
     Grandpa Diemer was a gunner on B-17 Flying Fortress.

B-17 Flying Fortress

He was stationed in England.  During the day he would fly over to Nazi Germany, bomb the pants off of them, head back to England and spend the night at the pub.  He loved to tell us that he never had to pay for a beer in a pub and he never lost a card game.  The English were real thankful to have the Yanks over there.
    My husband's Grandpa Stacy was also a soldier in the Army fighting his way through Germany. 
     Neither Grandpas really told me much more then that about the war.  I would wonder about what it must have been like going over to a foreign country where so many people were getting killed.  Soldiers, civilians, enemies, cities all getting wounded, killed, displaced, destroyed.  I think about how I would feel if I were told I was going to be shipped off to go to a war that I may never come home from.  I would have to leave my family, friends and freedoms behind.  I would have to follow orders no matter if I believed in the sacrifices they would ask me to make.  What a job it is to be soldier! 
    This past week my girlfriends, Diane and Susie, joined me to volunteer with Sock For Soldiers.  This is a group that sends care packages to soldiers over seas for the holidays.  This was started by a military mom, Paulette Gilliam, in 2003 whose son was a career soldier and was fighting overseas.  She would send him off care packages that she later learned he was sharing with his entire platoon.  He said that some soldiers did not receive anything at all from home; no letters, no packages, no support.  She decided that she needed to help these soldiers by filling their basic requests for toothpaste, laundry soap, knit caps, letters and little comforts from home. Since 2003 she is responsible for shipping over 25,000 care packages to the troops.  Paulette has a dedicated group of volunteers that make this operation successful.  An out pouring from the community in the form of donations, fundraisers, letter writing and volunteers make this all happen. 

    Diane, Susie and I went on Tuesday night after work and we were involved in labeling the envelopes that would be stuffed with caps, mugs, beef jerky, candy, cookies, socks, letters... 

Diane (on left) and Susie being busy little elves!

We functioned like a well oiled machine, getting over 400 envelopes ready to ship.  We made new friends and left feeling great about what we helped to do.  We all hoped that our efforts were going to make some soldiers know that we care, support and appreciate them back home. 

    The whole month of November I spent all my lunch breaks writing letters to the soldiers to be tucked in their care boxes.  I thanked them for their sacrifices and would then include one of these fabulous stories off the Jackson Hill Horsey Girl Blog.  I'm sure they weren't expecting to get a "Happy Holidays and one time a  goat got sat on by a bear or a horse ate too much marijuana..."

    I'd like to thank Paulette for starting Socks For Soldiers and all the soldiers she has reached out to over the years.  I'd like to thank Diane and Susie for coming along with me that night.  I'd like to thank all the soldiers out there who serve our country and had to make so many sacrifices in their life for us.  I'd like to thank my Grandpa Ahlers, Grandpa Diemer and Grandpa Stacy for fighting the Nazis and giving people another chance to be free. 

    If you would like to help a soldier have a holiday where they don't feel forgotten you can go to Anysoldier.com.  You can search through tons of requests and send a package to a soldier.  You have until December 10th to get a package to them before Christmas.  It will make you feel great when you do it!

 

Thanks for reading!  If you would like to be added to my mailing list or would like to leave a comment please contact me at Jacksonhillhorseygirl@aol.com.  I also have a Facebook page at Jackson Hill Horsey Girl.  It's a fun way to get to know other readers.

 

Copyright (c) 2012 Jacksonhillhorseygirl.com December 2, 2012