My husband is a veteran of the Viet Nam war. He has had many struggles throughout his life because the effect the experience had on him, especially the attitude of people towards the Viet Nam soldiers. Even though his service to his country was not valued at the time he has always remained very loyal to the country and the armed forces. As a result we often send care packages to where ever troops are located.

Our first experience with sending care packages was during desert storm. My husband came home from work with information on what to send and where. He also had a list of local soldiers that were serving. We casually knew one of the young men on the list through attending the same church. We put together care packages to send to him. We also wrote a letter letting him know about local events. We also included a thank you for his service to the country. We had included food and magazines in the care packages and shipped them off in ten day intervals. About two weeks after the first package was sent we received a thank you letter from the young soldier. He said the package was much appreciated and so was the news from home. When he came home on furlough he surprised us by stopping over at our home. The simple act of sending care packages to him started a friendship that continues to this day.

Unfortunately the need for care packages to our troops continues today. With the age of technology the care packages we send have changed. We still include different foods and treats but now we include telephone cards and internet minutes. We have always included stamps and paper.

Through the years we have received acknowledgement from some of the recipients of the care packages. For other packages we do not. We know that due to security it is not always possible for the troops to send word back to the country. We have found that we like to address the care packages to a specific soldier. We can do this by getting the names and addresses from local veterans service officers. They have the lists of men and women serving in the armed services across the United States and world wide. My husband feels this is important because he remembers how great it felt to have mail during roll call, especially if you were not expecting anything. Any delivery from home held reassure that you were not forgotten. It is so important for us to support our troops. It is their willingness to serve that allows us to enjoy our freedoms.