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thedrifter
05-11-06, 06:26 PM
Packages From Home Tell Marines That Family & Friends Care About Their Health, Comfort, And Safety

By Shannon Hicks

When her son Andrew announced shortly after graduating from high school that he wanted to join the Marines, Mary Ann Rudolph worried about her son's decision. Now that Andrew, 20, a lance corporal and member of Connecticut Charlie Company 1st Battalion 25th Marines, is based in the center of Fallujah, Mary Ann's thoughts are never far from her elder son.

Mrs Rudolph and her husband Bruce are the owners of Sunny Brook Farm in Newtown, and the parents of another son, Tyler, age 15. In addition to running the horse farm and raising her younger son, these days Mrs Rudolph also keeps busy by taking care of her oldest son and the men in Charlie Company by soliciting donations of everything from socks, mouthwash, and snacks to paintbrushes (to help clean munitions) and even computers so that more of the soldiers in Charlie Company can stay in touch with friends and family.

"I was surprised when Andrew told me that he wanted to go into the military," Mrs Rudolph said recently. "It was absolutely a surprise. As a parent it was hard, but you always want your kids to do what they think is important."

So after graduating in June 2004, Andrew Rudolph joined the Marines. Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 25th Marines, is a Marine Reserve unit headquartered in Plainville.

By late September 2005 there was talk, said Mrs Rudolph, of Company C going to Fallujah. The men and their families knew by November 1 that they would in fact be deployed, and on December 1 training began.

After spending 26 days training at Twenty-Nine Palms, Calif., where the military has re-created its own Iraqi village for training purposes, Connecticut Charlie Company was shipped to Fallujah. The 91 members of this company (who were the first to train at Twenty-Nine Palms) are now in the center of the city, having taken over a former Holiday Inn Express. The company is serving as a Forward Operating Base (FOB), so its resources are limited.

Charlie Company is part of the battalion known as "New England's Own" and is stationed in Fallujah under the command of Major Vaughn Ward.

Mrs Rudolph was "initially surprised," she said, at the types of things Charlie Company needed. "Most things will eventually be shipped into Fallujah, but rather than wait months, it was my initiative to get things there," she said. "It usually takes ten days for packages that we ship to arrive there. I didn't want them waiting for months for a computer so that they could write home, or for new socks so that they could continue to walk comfortably."

Charlie Company is made up primarily of men who live in Connecticut, but some of the members also come from New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and a few other states.

1st Sergeant Benjamin Grainger runs "The Boys in Company C," a blog that he updates almost daily. Mrs Rudolph takes many cues from 1st Sgt Grainger's blog, and the two have also begun corresponding directly.

The Marines, said Sgt Grainger, enjoy the magazines and junk food that get sent over, of course, but he would also like to see Listerine and multivitamins in some of the packages.

"Seems like junk food is what they want but I'm thinking basic multivitamins as we probably have a lack of that in our chow and Listerine to help fight off teeth problems," Sgt Grainger told Mrs Rudolph via email. "...half the time you don't even know when you're brushing your teeth or shaving anymore. That is good, though, as time is flying by. Marines get too tired and take sleep over cleaning up sometimes so I think - the Dad in me - vitamins and Listerine would be great in keeping them healthy."

Regular emails from 1st Sgt Benjamin Grainger keeps everyone in touch. The emails between soldiers and their families and friends were hit and miss for a while. There was only one computer initially available for Connecticut Charlie Company, and its reliability was irregular.

For some reason, prepaid calling cards are not working for Charlie Company, making communications with the States that much more difficult.

Another computer was needed, and it was going to have to be configured to military specifications.

Mrs Rudolph went to work on that. She contacted Fairfield County 4-H Club, who donated a computer for the Marines. When it was discovered that that computer was too old to be upgraded enough to be useful in Fallujah, Mrs Rudolph turned to Joe Masso. The owner of Liberty Computer Services, LLC, in Hawleyville, Mr Masso's company salvaged a different computer to be sent off to Charlie Company. (Mr Masso also cleaned up the original computer from 4-H and gave it to a track and field team in Monroe who needed a basic computer to keep its records organized.)

Mrs Rudolph was not done yet. She contacted Newtown Lions Club with her wish list, and the club immediately turned around with an offer for another computer. Less than a year old, the state-of-the-art laptop will be a great addition to the personal communications center being created for CT Charlie Company's FOB. Another computer has been donated by the Shawah family, and still another was donated by Steven Weller.

Tom Smith, the owner of Tom's Paint & Wallpaper in Bethel, donated a large number of paintbrushes to Charlie Company. A large number of vitamins and toiletries have been received from Kathy and Gerry Collins, cousins of Mrs Rudolph.

Also on the receiving end of a request from Mrs Rudolph was Dental Associates. When Mrs Rudolph asked for some toothbrushes from the Church Hill Road business, it arranged for 500 toothbrushes, toothpastes and floss. That's enough to cover the entire company the full length of its deployment, which runs until November 1.

It takes ten days for shipments to arrive, and the shipping costs add up quickly. When she mailed out her latest shipment to Iraq, the shipping alone came to $198.

On May 4 a trio of Marines from the support office in Plainville traveled to Newtown and spent the day with Mrs Rudolph. They traveled with her to Monroe and then into Newtown to visit and thank some of the people who have already donated items to Charlie Company.

When they stopped at the Dental Associates office, Dr William LaBella told the Marines, "Just tell us what else we can do. We'd be happy to do anything we can."

"Everything you do is appreciated," Staff Sergeant Patrick Cardichon assured Dr LaBella. "We wanted to thank you for all you've done."

When they all returned to Sunny Brook Farm late in the afternoon, the Marines and Mrs Rudolph were greeted by more people waiting to meet the young Marines. The soldiers presented some of the attendees - representatives of families and businesses who have donated to Charlie Company - with certificates of thanks.

Staff Sgt Cardichon also read a statement to the small group, which included friends of the Rudolph family and some of the farm's youngest riders.

"The Marines of Company C 1st Battalion 25th Marines in Fallujah are doing well," said Staff Sgt Cardichon. "While in Iraq, the Marines will experience a number of different feelings, feelings such as fear, boredom, joy, excitement, homesickness, and pride. They are not only proud of what they are doing and what they stand for, but proud of how their local communities support them.

"Every day the Charlie Company Marines are thinking about home," Staff Sgt Cardichon continued. "...Please be assured that your care packages bring a smile to all the Marines in Fallujah. The long and short of it is, your packages bring the Charlie Company Marines a little closer to home. Your packages remind them of a home and a family back here in the States. The packages remind them that someone cares."

Mrs Rudolph is not sure what her son will do once his tour is up in November. All she can do for the next seven months is continue to take care of him the best she can from Newtown, and right now that means collecting anything she can to make his life and the life of his fellow Marines a little more comfortable while they work in the heat and sandy conditions of the Iraqi city they call their temporary home.

"Of course I want him to come home safe," she said. "More than anything that's what we all want."

To keep up with Connecticut Charlie Company, visit 1st Sergeant Grainger's blog, Charlie125Marines.blogspot.com.

Ellie