Lori Woodward of Nashua sorts through items she has purchased before boxing them to send to military troops overseas. She is a member of Operation Military Pride. Items include powdered juice, snacks, T-shirts and Patriots items for the New England soldiers. Order this picture
Lori Woodward has a big heart - so big in fact that after deciding to become a pen pal to a soldier in Iraq, she found herself writing to 10 deployed military personnel.
"If I can boost one person's morale, it's all worth it. It's all worth that one soldier feeling his or her months over there aren't wasted." said the 39-year-old Nashua resident, who in May became the first New Hampshire member of Operation Military Pride, a national online support network for deployed military and their families.

Woodward, a waitress at the Ninety Nine Restaurant and Pub for almost 17 years, decided to participate in the project after suffering from heart failure, the result of a congenital heart defect that left her with an enlarged heart.
"I was told, 'There's no way you'll ever waitress again,' " she said. "I was devastated. I'd done it since I was 17. I enjoyed the people."
During a long recovery period at home, the mother of two teenagers, who for 10 years volunteered for the American Red Cross' disaster team, said she began feeling lonely.
"I've got to do something to be in contact with people," she said she realized. "My two kids were at school. My husband was at work. It was me and the cats."
When she started reading about American soldiers fighting in Iraq who weren't getting mail, Woodward decided to volunteer as a pen pal. She liked to write. It was something she could do sitting in bed or at her computer.
How To Help
For more information about Operation Military Pride, go to www.operationmilitarypride.org or e-mail Lori Woodward at ljwljw@aol.com. Woodward is willing to take donated items and include them in care packages she is currently preparing.
"I started writing to one person and the next thing you know, I was up to 10," she said.
Now, she writes to two via e-mail; the others she sends letters to the old-fashioned way.
She writes often, focusing on deployed military members who receive little mail, but making sure everyone on her list receives letters, postcards and care packages. Since May, she estimated, she has sent 80 letters and cards overseas and to Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington.
She has also mailed about 18 care packages filled with bug spray, beef jerky, breakfast cereal, toothbrushes and toothpaste, razors, and all-occasion cards to service people. Recently, she sent 10 sports T-shirts to patients at Walter Reed - a fashion option welcomed by veterans accustomed to white T-shirts or johnnies.
"Postage kills you," she said of the expense, adding that she fills the packages with items she finds at dollar stores.
Some deployed military personnel write back to her. Others don't. But Woodward said she doesn't expect letters. She is supporting the troops because she wants them to feel cared for; her reward is the satisfaction of knowing she is helping boost morale.
"I don't look to get letters," said Woodward. "They're too busy trying to stay alive."
But the volunteer said she treasures the responses she receives.
One soldier she was writing to in Afghanistan told her he had shared her letters with the seven others in his unit. After, the soldiers sent Woodward a certificate of appreciation.
Thanks also come from family members who log on to www.operationmilitarypride.org to share their experiences and concerns. "I never expected to write this many letters," Woodward said.
Writing, it turns out, comes naturally to Woodward, who said she often finds herself rewriting passages and chuckling over a clever turn of phrase. In turn, her correspondents praise her writing skills and humor. "I try to write a letter every day," she said, ticking off a list of topics that includes local rallies to support the troops, military pride banners hung over area highways, and news clippings and photos.
"I end up getting deployed military over there that don't get much mail. One's fiancee e-mails me nightly," she said.
Woodward said troops appreciate theme care packages like the movie night box she recently packed: two DVDs, both comedies, microwave popcorn, candy, and a small pillow. They also enjoy drawings made by children, candy, and other treats that remind them of home. (Sending chocolates is discouraged since they melt.)
"I keep boxes in my living room and drop things in as I shop," said Woodward, adding that she checks the many lists appearing on the Operation Military Pride Web site to get ideas for things to send.
"In all the TV interviews, soldiers say, '˜The support you sent kept us going,' " Woodward said. "You won't understand until you write that one letter."
 

Winnebago thanks U.S. troops with rally

By MIKE WISER, Rockford Register Star

WINNEBAGO -- Tim and Jami Miller, like most newlyweds, reasonably expected that they'd be surrounded by well-wishers the day after their wedding.
Sunday, they were surrounded by people saying "thank you" as well.
The Millers -- Jami sporting her Air Force uniform and Tim in Marines' dress blues -- were two of the 100 or so people at Winnebago Middle School for a grass-roots Support Our Troops rally.
The rally, to coincide with the national celebration of Armed Forces Day, is particularly poignant for Winnebago, a burg of 3,000 that has 65 residents -- including the Win-Bur-Sew fire chief and a high school teacher -- on active military duty.
Jami, a 2001 Winnebago High School graduate probably best known around town by her maiden name, Huffington, said the number of active military from Winnebago seems reasonable.
"It's because we've got a lot recruiters that visit us, and we've got a lot of students that return to Winnebago and tell us how awesome the military is," she said.
"For me, I first wanted to serve my country, and I needed something to do after high school. I figured I can't afford college, so I'll join the military."
The four-hour rally was filled with sidewalk art, songs, speeches, flags, photos, food and an emcee dressed as Uncle Sam.
"These types of events are being held all over the country this weekend," said Win-Bur-Sew acting Fire Chief Irv Koning. He got the idea for the rally from Operation Military Pride's Web site, www. operationmilitarypride.org.
"We just wanted to thank our troops wherever they are and wherever they're from and tell them we appreciate it."
Koning called resident Mary Gross, who has kept track of the community's military involvement for years, and she ran with it. Gross was in the middle of explaining care packages when she spied a young man in his sailor whites: "Oh my, it's Danny."
Daniel Robbel, a 2000 graduate of Winnebago High School, is on leave from the Navy. Twice already, he's been in the Persian Gulf on the USS Boxer, where he serves as a firefighter.
"We saw a lot of cruise missiles shooting, bunker bombs, they'd go right over our head," the 22-year-old said. "It's crazy 'cause you'd see them go over, then you'd go in and watch CNN and you'd see them hit."
Robbel said he's using part of his leave, which lasts until Wednesday, to submit an application to the Rockford Fire Department, a place his father has worked for the past 22 years.
Father-and-son similarities also are found in the Fry family. Ed Fry, a Vietnam veteran, was at Sunday's rally to support all of the troops, but particularly his son, Justin, 24.
Justin is a member of the Army's signal corps and has been overseas for two years.
"After the Twin Towers he decided he wanted to serve," Fry said. "Yeah, I was worried. My wife, too ... but we're just so proud of our son and all the kids from Winnebago."

 
 
HOW TO SEND YOUR CARD
Send a card to a member of the armed forces stationed anywhere in the world. According to government policy, a card must be addressed to a particular person rather than to "any service member," so pick one of these options for sending your card:
* Choose a service member you already know.
* Sign up through Operation Military Pride to receive the name and address of someone who is deployed. Visit operationmilitarypride.org.
* Send your card to Military Moms, an organization that mails cards to service members through channels it has established with the military. This is a great way to send large quantities of cards made by school, church, or other groups. Visit militarymoms.net.
BONUS IDEA
Send a care package along with your card. Visit operationmilitarypride.org for a list of the most requested care package items and guidelines for package shipment. If you would rather make a donation to sponsor care packages, you can do so at this web site.
 

Craft Project - Military Morale Cards - Paper Crafts Magazine
Papercrafts Magazine
We made the Paper Crafts June/July mag

Fighting the war in a personal war
The names of Islanders, who died on 9/11, are written on bombs that were dropped on Afghanistan and Iraq

Monday, February 16, 2004
By AARON SMITH
STATEN ISLAND ADVANCE

 

Following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, the U.S. Navy gave the FDNY a chance to fight back with a personal touch: Emblazoning the names of Staten Island's fallen on bombs bound for Afghanistan and Iraq.
Thanks to the efforts of a Bay Terrace court officer and a Navy officer from the Bronx stationed on an aircraft carrier, bombs were deployed bearing the names of firefighters Capt. Michael Esposito, 42, of Eltingville, a member of Squad 1 in Brooklyn who was posthumously promoted, and Francis Esposito, 32, of Tottenville, a member of Engine Co. 235, Ladder 79 in Brooklyn.
"It's a shame that somebody's going to die from a bomb with my brother's name on it, but they killed him," said firefighter Joseph Esposito of Rescue 5, a Dongan Hills resident who is Mike's brother and Frank's cousin. "You don't want to kill anybody, but we had to do what we had to do."
Frank Esposito's bomb was dropped on Afghanistan in October 2001 and Mike Esposito's bomb was dropped on Iraq in April 2003, according to Joseph Bove of Bay Terrace, an officer of Stapleton Criminal Court who helped to coordinate the effort.
Frank Esposito's bomb was deployed from the USS Carl Vinson and Mike Esposito's bomb was deployed from the USS Kitty Hawk, according to Lt. Col. Edwin Berrios, a bomb assembling officer from the Bronx and Puerto Rico who was stationed on the USS Carl Vinson.
The effort began when Bove saw that his wife, Donna, was corresponding with military personnel via the Internet and sending them care packages. Bove, who was friends with Mike Esposito, wanted to get in on the action.
Using the online moniker "Proud American father from New York City," he struck up a correspondence with a Marine staff sergeant on the USS Carl Vinson, an aircraft carrier that is home to a Marine squadron of F/A-18 Hornets.
The Marine referred Bove to Berrios, and Berrios contacted a bomb assembly officer on the USS Kitty Hawk, who was able to memorialize the Espositos on 2,000-pound bombs.
"Staten Island took a big hit," said Berrios during a recent visit with his family and the Bove family to Angel Circle, the Grasmere memorial where many of the island's 202 victims are memorialized. "How can I be there for the family members, for the person who can't strike back? By putting a personal touch on each of the weapons for those who were not there to do so."
Berrios also helped Bove memorialize three Manhattan-based court officers -- Capt. Harry Thompson, senior court officer Tommy Jurgens and senior court officer Mitchel Wallace -- who died while trying to evacuate people from the World Trade Center. Bombs bearing the names of these officers were dropped on Iraq on April 12, 2003.
Bove has also served as a middle man, obtaining bomb photos from the military, representing about 80 victims and supplying them to families and firehouses.
Berrios said that bomb dedication is a way for survivors to achieve closure. "We're going to keep this professional," said Berrios. "We don't want this to be sensationalized. But on a personal side, I know there were a lot of hurt people."
The Bove family is currently sending care packages every two weeks to military personnel stationed overseas. Donna Bove said that anyone wishing to show their support can visit www.operationmilitarypride.org, or can contact her at militarymom1357@aol.com.
"You don't know how much it means to get a box for someone you don't even know," said Berrios, who said that some of his supporters don't back the war but still support the military. "It recharges your batteries once again, with the hope another box will come. Without the support, we're a lone fighting soldier or sailor out there.
Aaron Smith covers police and fire news for the Advance. He can be reached at smith@siadvance.com.

Editor's note: Each week, The Arizona Republic will bring you the stories of the Arizona men and women who went to fight in Iraq, and the stories of those they left behind.

In 1995, Arlyn McClaughry's husband, Mark, was in the Army, stationed in Kuwait, when he got a letter from schoolchildren who had "adopted" him.
McClaughry was touched and inspired.
"I wanted to give something back," she says, so she and a group of military wives started Operation Military Pride, a Web site support group and message board that evolved into a clearinghouse for care packages to soldiers overseas.
Families can fill out forms detailing what their military loved ones need and McClaughry and her volunteers try to fill those requests. Interested people can donate cash or goods, or adopt a soldier, sailor or Marine and send their own packages, following tips on the Web site.
McClaughry claims 5,000 members on the message board and more than a half million packages mailed this year from wonderful volunteers.
The living room of McClaughry's home in Surprise is filled with boxes of donated items - socks and batteries, wet wipes and phone cards, among other things - and boxes she's mailing out.
"Personally, I can tell you I send about 200 care packages a month," she says.
For more information, go to www.operationmilitarypride.org
.
- Michael Kiefer

Surprise woman gives back to military
Care packages are part of effort

Dec. 2, 2003 12:00 AM

Parents join support
of Operation
Military Pride

By SCOTT POWELL
Ledger Staff Writer

Mary Bramlett Elementary students in teacher Cindy Byars' class are supporting U.S. troops one letter at a time through Operation Military Pride.
The students wrote letters and mailed packages Friday to nine men and women in the military who are currently overseas protecting the United States. The students' effort is part of Operation Military Pride, a grass roots nonprofit organization that encourages volunteers to write letters and send packages to military personnel who do not receive regular mail from home.
The organization maintains a working list of names of servicemen that it provides volunteers interested in writing letters.
Byars got her class interested in the Operation Military Pride project after finding the organization's web site on the Internet at Http://www.operationmilitarypride.org
"As a learning lesson and a service project, my class has decided to write to service personnel and send packages. Each child was eager to complete their project and is eagerly awaiting a note back," Byars said. "They surprised me with the writings and the goodies they brought in for each of the men and women in the service."
Students brought in toothbrushes, magazines, playing cards and various other goodies Friday to go in the packages for the military personnel. The students then packaged the items and wrapped them for mailing.
"I thought this would be a good way for my class to show their appreciation to the military for the great job they are doing," Byars said.

For many troops, it's in the mail
Tons of packages going to deployed service members

By Karen Jowers
Times staff writer
Issue Date: December 01, 2003

Operation Military Pride Supports Deployed Troops

By K.L. Vantran
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Nov. 17, 2003 - Once the children are off to school, Arlyn
McClaughry logs onto the computer in her Arizona home and begins reading e-
mails from service members deployed throughout the world.
As chairperson for Operation Military Pride www.operationmilitarypride.org
, a non-profit organization that sends letters and care packages to troops deployed overseas, McClaughry said the items most often requested include baby wipes, junk food, gum, foot powder, gel insoles, magazines and books.
"These are the kinds of things we take for granted, but they obviously need
them," said McClaughry, who started OMP in 1995.
While care packages often contain toiletries, non-perishable food and reading
material, OMP has also sent DVD players, video games and consoles. "We try to
get them what they ask for," said McClaughry. "If by playing a video game for a
few minutes it seems like they're home and we've raised morale, it's all worth
it."
McClaughry said when her husband was deployed to Kuwait somebody "adopted" him.
She said running OMP is her way of "giving something back" to the military.
Although it's almost a full-time job, especially since September 2001,
McClaughry said she loves her work.
Around the holidays, people are really supportive and remember the troops, she
said. "But year round, people tend to forget," she added. "They don't realize
how low morale can get. I say 'wake up,' we need to support our troops all the
time. We need to make sure the men and women are taken care of and know that
people back home care about them."
The spouse of an 82nd Airborne Division paratrooper at Fort Bragg, N.C., who
asked that her name not be used, agreed. "You can't imagine what effect these
packages have on morale," she said. "It's a bright spot in the day for them.
There are a lot of single soldiers who don't get a lot of packages from home,
so when they get one from Operation Military Pride it really lifts their
spirits."
She said her husband's unit was in country only three days when it "lost a
soldier." He recently sent her a letter and said that when his unit received
packages, the soldiers "were like a bunch of kids at Christmas."
She lauded McClaughry and the volunteers that keep OMP going. "She's a
wonderful lady and it's a wonderful organization."
_______________________________________________________
NOTE: This is a plain text version of a web page. If your e-mail program
did not properly format this information, you may view the story at
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Nov2003/n11172003_200311174.html
Any photos, graphics or other imagery included in the article may also
be viewed at this web page.
====================================================
Visit the Defense Department's Web site for the latest news
and information about America's response to the Sept. 11, 2001,
terrorist attacks and the war against terrorism: "Defend America"
at http://www.DefendAmerica.mil.
- Karen Jowers

WASHINGTON, July 13, 2004 -- Nine years ago, while her husband was deployed, Arlyn McClaughry started an online newsletter as a way to bring service members and military families information on the Web. She and other spouses also began mailing packages and letters to deployed troops.
Today, Operation Military Pride is a full-time job for McClaughry and several volunteers who lend a helping hand.
The site provides information on several programs, including how to "adopt" a service member.
"Our 'Adopt a Military Member' is the most popular," she said. "It gives people a way to let the military know they support them. We also have Operation Postcard or pen pal program, which is an inexpensive way for people to support the troops. Operation Birthday Card is another favorite."
McClaughry said she has received many thanks from the troops, but the story that touches her the most was a message a mother posted on the Operation Military Pride website last September. It said:
"While on my visit with Christopher this last week he shared a moment in his life every mother dreads hearing. He told me that the end of June he was planning on ending his life and planned on doing it the next day while in Iraq. He said he laid in his tent all night and prayed to God for strength and an opportunity to talk with his family one last time. He would have to wait almost seven days until payday to get a phone card. He said he felt so alone and very homesick. He then told me that next day at mail call he received nine care packages from your organization from caring Americans who did not know him. Packages had phone cards and he was able to call home and talk with his father and me. He said after hearing our voices and how much we missed him he knew he could never take his own life and cause us the grief that comes along with suicide.
"I want to thank the sponsors who sent these care packages. 'Their generosity is the reason I have my son here with me today. They will never know how much I appreciate what they have done for my family."
"I knew from that point that we were really making a difference," said McClaughry, "and that even a small thing such as a calling card can really change the morale and spirits (of troops)."
She said that as long as the United States has deployed troops, Operation Military Pride will continue to send care packages.
"We just want them to know that there are people back home who love them, support them 100 percent, and pray for their safe return," she added. "And that their sacrifice is appreciated and cherished."
Related Site:
Operation Military Pride

Newsletter Leads to Full-Time Job Supporting Troops

By K.L. Vantran
American Forces Press Service