Soldiers' Angels Ships 5000th Backpack to Help Wounded Soldiers in Overseas Hospital

Donald MacKay
Executive Director/Soldiers’ Angels
Email: info@soldiersangels.org
Phone: (615) 676-0239

Carmel, CA, May 10, 2006 (Open Release) – Soldiers’ Angels, a military support organization founded by Patti Patton-Bader in 2003 and operated by an all volunteer force of over 60,000 members, has shipped their 5,000th transitional backpack to a hospital in Germany where wounded troops from the Middle Eastern War on Terror are treated, often before returning stateside for further medical assistance.

The idea for the backpack was developed because an injured soldier is rarely reunited with his or her personal belongings as they are rushed first into a Combat Support Hospital for initial treatment and then, if warranted, on to Germany for more intense medical care. Often a wounded soldier arrives in Germany in the same uniform in which they were wounded.

Therefore, in March 2004, Soldiers’ Angels began preparing and
sending these backpacks to the hospital in Germany and to the Combat Support Hospitals so that the soldiers would have these personal items to carry them over until they could receive a more permanent arrangement.

The first 100 backpacks were made possible by the sponsorship of the 1955 Graduating Class of West Point (also the class of Patti’s father), which again co-sponsored the second 100 backpacks along with the West Point Graduating Classes of 1948 and 1959.

The backpacks contain hygiene items such as toothbrush & toothpaste, hair comb, shampoo, soap, deodorant, lotion, and powder. Clothing is included in the form of new underwear and a leisure shirt and pants. A phone card is in the backpack so the soldier can call his or her family.

Also included is a handmade Blanket of Hope, a blanket that has been made by one of the Soldiers’ Angels volunteers and is sent with a note of well wishes for the soldier who receives the blanket.

The backpacks and their contents are donated directly by the volunteers, through group fundraisers and by the generosity of outside donors.

If you would like to donate a backpack to a wounded soldier at the low cost of only $40, please check the Soldiers Angels' website for details.

www.soldiersangels.org
phone (615) 676-0239
email info@soldiersangels.org

Please take time to browse the website to see the many ways that Soldiers’ Angels supports our deployed and wounded soldiers as well as their families.

New members are being welcomed to help us keep up with the ever growing number of requests for assistance from so many of the men and women who are standing guard over our freedom.

Please help us to make mail call a happy time for all with a letter from home.

###

"Soldiers’ Angels: Right On"

Letter to Soldier of Fortune online:

In the Bulletin Board section of the March ’06 issue, you carried a recommendation to support this organization.

I couldn’t agree more.

I have been down here on the security mission with a cavalry troop for about a year now, and signed up with Soldiers’ Angels on line, and within about a month was contacted by a member of this network of fine ladies.

Soon, I was in contact with a whole bevy of folks from all across America, who took the time to send cards, care packages, mail, e-mail, or just a kind word on a post card.

I’ve been soldiering around for a long time, and I can tell you that although this isn’t an area where the action is hot and heavy, but these folks helped us make it thru, what would have been a much longer tour without them. I don’t expect you’d allow me to say thank you to them by name, but these ladies put in some awfully long hours and all for us.

I can’t thank them enough for what they do. The readership could do worse than giving them some support, any way they can.

I love them all!

SSG James Dolan
Naval Station, Guantanamo Bay,
Cuba

Thank you for your service, SSG Dolan. We love you too!

Going the extra miles to help a wounded Marine

Medical teams come together to treat burn victim

LANDSTUHL, Germany — One of the Few, the Proud has a faithful corps doing everything it can to keep him alive.This corps is composed of dozens of troops from across the military who are going to great lengths for a wounded Marine who has sacrificed so much.

A team from Landstuhl Regional Medical Center waited out a sandstorm and mortar attack in Iraq to reach him. Specialized personnel were flown to Germany from Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., and Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio to treat the young warrior. Nurses attended to him around the clock, and doctors stayed awake for 60 hours — minus a few naps — to treat the Marine....

Read the rest of Steve Mraz's story at Stars and Stripes here.

Atwar Bahjat's Killers

What's standing between us and them?

Warning: The following contains a graphic description of a brutal murder - probably exceeding what you imagine one human being could do to another. However, it is typical of the work of Islamic terrorists. Read on only if you want a bit of insight into the nature of the enemy in this global war. If not, please skip to the final paragraph.

They are.

They did.

What have you done lately?

Update:
Consider these words from Daniel Henninger's May 5 piece 'United 93' and the 20th Hijacker:

Nothing could be more innocent than the fathers, mothers, husbands, wives, attendants and pilots on that plane. Like us at this moment, they were in the act of daily life. They were not combatants in any sense. They were targeted precisely because they were unprotected.

During periods of peace, and we have had a long one, some people come to believe that this happy condition is the natural state of life. It is not. The unprotectedness of civilized, quotidian life was earned, over centuries, often in war.

"... not combatants in any sense." Just like Atwar Bahjat.

Yep, That's Our Guys

You know how you always hear those stories about wounded soldiers wanting to return to duty? Well, Sgt Hook has another inspiring example here.

Meet one of your incredible Soldiers, SSG Willie Hall of Company B, 1st Battalion, 87th Infantry Regiment, currently serving in Iraq.

According to members of his unit, Hall provided first aid to fellow Soldiers before realizing he, too, was significantly wounded in both the neck and arm. After forcing their attackers to flee, Hall’s unit evacuated him for treatment.

He was transported to Walter Reed Army Medical Center, where commenced on a six-month journey of treatment and physical therapy he hoped would bring him back to full health.

“As soon as I was feeling close to 100 percent, I knew I had to get back to my platoon,” said Hall. “That is where I belong.”

Go over to Hook's and meet SSG Hall.

Last Day in DC

After the Milblog Conference I spent two days visiting my sister in Maryland where Taco's Mom tracked me down and asked if I'd have time to get together before my return to Germany.

I told her I needed to drive back down through DC to catch my evening flight out of Dulles on Wednesday, and she graciously invited me to drop by her home on the way. I happened to mention I hadn't gotten a chance to do any sightseeing while in DC, and there were two places I'd always wanted to visit.

Well, that's all Mary needed to hear and she had a plan. "I think we'll be able to talk to John about making that happen for you."

And suddenly, I was there.


Walking up to the Lincoln Memorial.
Then Mary said, "Now turn around."


The Washington Monument viewed from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.

Of course I needed to get someone to take a picture of us, so here we are.


Mary and MaryAnn.


In this temple, as in the hearts of the people for whom he saved the Union, the memory of Abraham Lincoln is enshrined forever.


We walked past the Vietnam Memorial on the way back to the car. I need to... spend some time there some day.

Then it was on to Arlington Cemetery, so beautiful at this time of year.

John parked the car near the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and this time he and I got out while Mary stayed with the car. He looked at his watch, said "come on!", and started to jog up the hill.



We arrived just as the guards were changing. He put his arm around me and steered me right up front within feet of the guards. We stood together and watched.

Noticing I was transfixed, John asked in a whisper if I wanted to take a picture. Cameras were clicking all around me. But I just shook my head.

"It's very moving", he said as we left.

* * *

Thank you, Mary and John. Our time together meant a lot to me.

FReep at Walter Reed Last Friday

Gunn Nutt's got an extended post up from the FReep last week with lots of photos:

A Lotta New Friends at Walter Reed

Like I reported earlier, it was wet. Not that it scared too many people off - we had a great crowd of FReepers, friends, heroes and milbloggers who were in town for the Milblog Conference.

Going to the FReep was one of the hightlights of my trip and something I'd wanted to do for a long time. Gunn Nutt and the other FReepers ROCK!

Thanks again for having us!

Update: BillF has the "FReep #53 Report" up at Free Republic here with more pics.

Opposed to our at least 37 patriots, the Pinkos only had 7 America-hating traitors and their dupes when I counted, but they may have had a few others who left early. They were outnumbered, yet again, even in the liberal bastion of Washington, DC.

Although we outnumbered the Pinkos, we had the bloggers and that helped us get the troops out to join us in large numbers. We need you there this Friday to continue outnumbering the Pinkos.

If you're in or near DC on a Friday evening, take part. You'll be glad you did.

The Screaming Angels

From a letter submitted by Aric Catron, 25, a Washington state National Guardsman to the Seattle Post-Intelligencer:

On one of those days in Iraq where I wasn't sure if I'd see my daughter again, I was working at a checkpoint near a small camp in the desert. (...)

On this particular day one of the locals had his little girl with him. She was shyly watching me from behind his legs. When I smiled and waved at her, she brazenly ran up to me with a big smile and held out her arms, expecting to be picked up.

At first I was shocked at her sudden bravery, and it took me a second to reach down and pick her up. When I did, she immediately kissed me on my cheek and then nestled in as if she meant to stay a while.

I looked toward her father and he immediately began talking rapidly in Arabic and gesturing at me. Our translator quickly explained that he, the father, had been locked in a prison for most of the child's life. He had been sentenced to death for being a Shiite dissident traitor.

The man went on to say that soldiers wearing the same patch on the shoulder as I was (the 101st Airborne Division) had freed him shortly after we began the liberation of Iraq. His daughter from then on believed that the famous Screaming Eagle patch of the 101st meant that we were angels sent to protect her family.

Read the rest.

Thanks to Soldiers' Angel Nila for passing this on.

Milblog Conference - Saturday

Andi's posted a complete and updated roundup of conference coverage called What They're Saying that you should check out to make sure you haven't missed anything.

As a summary, I like John of Argghhh!'s second conference post including a list of "take aways", and his excellent "Continuing the Discussion" post.

Personally, I initially had reservations about attending the conference. Willie and I are not Milbloggers, we are supporters. After emailing with Patti and seeing there was an attendee category called "Military Supporter", I felt better.

Knowing that I would have the opportunity to go to the FReep and visit some patients at Walter Reed clinched it for me.

It was worth it for all of those reasons and more. Experiencing (and in many cases meeting) people whose blogs I've read for a long time adds a dimension that technology - as wonderful as it is - cannot provide.

And Friday night at Fran's is something I will always remember.

Surprisingly (for me at least), I did find some of the conference themes relevant for our blog. For example, OPSEC is obviously a critical issue for deployed bloggers. But we meet hundreds of soldiers who have just come from theater and they talk about... everything. Some subjects are sensitive, others may simply be misunderstood by those who don't understand how things work.

Some conversations are intensely personal and I would never even repeat them, much less blog about them.

Through these conversations I also experienced firsthand the disconnect between what I saw on TV and what the soldiers were telling me.

I don't mean not reporting "good news", like building hospitals or schools. I mean What Is Really Going On - all of it.

The MSM often portrays our efforts in Iraq, in particular, as though our soldiers are aimlessly driving around the desert just waiting to get blown up. And yes, guys going out on patrol do sometimes feel that they're just waiting to get blown up. But why are they on patrol? What is the strategy behind an operation? How do different operations fit together? You won't find out on CNN, that's for sure. But you will find out here and here.

The worst aspect of the legacy media's war coverage - and in my opinion the most reprehensible - is the coverage of the soldiers themselves. Or better put, the lack of it. For them, casualties are apparently subjects of theoretical debate or statistics to be used for political gain.

According to them, there are no well-trained professionals among our troops, and there are certainly no Heroes. Hell, they're not even people. Or if they are, they are 19 year olds that couldn't get jobs.

It is this ignorance - no, callous disregard - that I find deeply disturbing on several different levels.

This was a common theme amongst the panelists when discussing their motivations to blog. When dealing with security concerns, it seemed to me that a lot of it came down to common sense, a sense of responsibility, and a sense of respect. And although those self-imposed restrictions work for the most part, they are too ad hoc for the Military establishment, and many Milbloggers themselves would prefer more clear-cut guidance.

This has gotten much longer than I intended but I have to mention a few more highlights. Fred from In Iraq for 365 was awesome on the Blogging From Theater panel. I've been reading his blog forever and finally got up the courage to tell him that when we ran into each other at the hotel. Too bad I wasn't able to convince him to come to the pub crawl. Got to meet Bill and Steve (hope the Advil helped, Steve) also awesome on the same panel. And Buzz Patterson - if you don't listen to his radio show and haven't read his books, you're missing out. One of the first people I met at the FReep was Stacy, with whom I had emailed ages ago. I had the pleasure of briefly speaking with David at the conference about Robert Stokely, who unfortunately could not attend. Maggie and Rachelle were real hoots at the pub crawl, as was Hfs, who actually traveled further than I did to attend the conference (I won't go into the flashing incident). Thanks for the lift back to my hotel, Bill - I don't think I could have taken another DC cabbie at that point. (What is the deal with the DC cab drivers??)

Thanks to Greyhawk and Mrs. G for the online conference moderation, which must have been quite the task and of course to our First Lady, conference organizer Andi, for bringing us all together.

Milblog Conference - Friday

My Milblog Conference weekend started on Friday afternoon having a late lunch with a buddy of a patient I met at Landstuhl hospital in Germany last year.

He's spent the last nine months recovering from injuries at Walter Reed and has been driving again now for two months. He picked me up at my hotel and we headed out to a nearby Mexican restaurant. After a short detour caused by an unexpected flight of stairs ("welcome to my world"), we tucked in to a great meal and lots of talk. I knew a lot about him from our mutual friends, but was still impressed by what a great guy he is. Thank you for the hospitality... and everything else.

Later it was on to the FReep in front of Walter Reed where I finally got to meet Gunn Nutt, which I'd been looking forward to forever. As noted here, it started pouring the minute the FReep started so it was WET. A Soldier offered me his OEF cap to keep my head dry but I'd rather get rained on than have hat hair.

(Gunn Nutt not only live-blogged the conference but has a great wrap up - just keep scrolling.)

At the FReep I also met bloggers Laurie and Heidi, and lots of others including FReepers BillF, Albion Wilde, Justanobody, and tgslTakoma.

Not much Pinko action at this rainy FReep, especially after a group of soldiers went down the block to talk with them. In spite of the weather, the atmosphere was great with passing drivers honking their horns and waving in support. This was something I've wanted to do for a long time, and was a real honor being out there with this dedicated group that I've read so much about.

Next stop on Friday evening was Fran O'Brien's. (Thanks Albion Wilde for the ride!)

The bar at Fran's was absolutely rocking, and I just waded in. I can't remember who I saw first, it's all a blur. I met Holly and Pam, who are as wonderful in person as they are on their blogs. I had a great time talking to Carol, and met Some Soldiers' Mom and her fabulous husband. There were two boisterous, cigar-smoking guys - one wearing a kilt (sorry, Taco, but a skirt by any other name... ) and one (thankfully) not. Then I heard a voice say, "Hi MaryAnn" and it was Matt.

The atmosphere was... incredible. There were diners doing the limbo under a crutch. I saw Paul Wolfowitz sitting at a table. A Marine at the bar desperately needed his missing right arm to complete the hand motions for a dance, and yelled "arm!" His wife (also a Marine) stood behind him and provided the arm, matching the movements of his left arm with her right. We were all hysterical, and Capt B said it was the most awesome thing he'd ever seen. Later, she 'lovingly' offered him a cigarette. Each time he opened his mouth for it, she quickly attempted to stick it up his nose.

In the Ladies' room, a young woman at the sinks holds her hand out to another. There's an engagement ring on her finger. "Oh, honey, I am so happy for you!", says the second woman. They embrace. "Of course", the first woman says, "we're going to be here a while longer. He needs to have another 4 inches removed from his stump. The femur has deteriorated." "Oh, I know how that is."

It's like a big family, where everyone can just be themselves.

Or, to quote FbL, whom I also had the pleasure of meeting:

I understood, in a way far beyond the intellectual way I had before, that Fran’s was a treasure beyond description.

Please read the rest of her post on the evening here - she says everything far better than I can.

The Capital Hilton Hotel, where Fran's is located, is throwing this treasure out into the street by cancelling their lease. This coming Friday will be the last dinner Fran's will be able to host for our wounded soldiers.

Read FbL's posts on this travesty here to find out what you can do.

See also Save Fran O'Brien's Steakhouse.

More on the rest of the conference later, I'll be on a plane tomorrow.