thedrifter
11-27-06, 07:33 AM
November 27, 2006
Blue Star Mothers’ care packages add ‘touch of home’
The Associated Press
ALBUQUERQUE — Marine Sgt. Travis O’Canna trudged into his billet, dog-tired and caked with dust after five long days on patrol in the hills of Afghanistan.
Looking only for a place to clean up and catch some much-needed sleep, the 24-year-old Albuquerque native found a welcome surprise sitting on his bed: a “care package” from home.
The Blue Star Mothers had struck again.
O’Canna, a former infantryman with the 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marine Division, said the packages, which graced most of the bunks in his squad at one time or another, made life a little easier during the nine months he fought in Afghanistan.
“We came in all hot, tired and dusty,” said O’Canna, who recently left active duty and returned to Albuquerque. “And laid out on our racks were these big care packages from home. Man, it was like Christmas.”
For the next several days, he and his bunkmates shared and reveled in their unexpected bounty.
“One of the nice things about the Blue Star packages is there’s plenty to go around,” O’Canna said in a telephone interview. “If there was a guy who hadn’t had much mail in a while, we’d all give him some of our stuff.”
O’Canna said he especially enjoyed reading the letters from schoolkids that were bundled in with the snacks, candy, neck coolers, batteries, paperbacks and other goodies.
“To know we had that kind of support back home was just awesome,” O’Canna said.
Support is the Blue Star Mothers’ stock and trade, said Sabrah Rolfe of Albuquerque, chairwoman of the care package committee for the Rio Grande Valley Chapter of the Blue Star Mothers. It’s a national service organization founded during World War II.
Rolfe has been a Blue Star mom ever since her son Christopher served in the Persian Gulf with the Navy.
“I recognized that a lot of mothers who, like me, have sons in harm’s way, need the support of someone who understands their situation,” Rolfe said.
Rolfe and other Blue Star moms in Albuquerque recently packed and shipped 325 Christmas-themed care packages to troops overseas.
Twice a year, the chapter invites families of troops to submit names and addresses of their relatives for inclusion on their list of care package recipients, Rolfe said.
“We all need that mutual support. We hold each other up,” she said.
Army Spc. David Rosecrans said care packages were a huge morale booster during his yearlong stint in Iraq, which ended in September.
While in Iraq, Rosecrans repaired and maintained Chinook and Black Hawk helicopters at Camp Anaconda, about 60 miles north of Baghdad.
“It’s always nice to get mail when you’re over there, but I really looked forward to getting care packages,” Rosecrans said. “They always had stuff that you couldn’t get at the PX, like the snacks, a deck of cards, or those little packets of green chili. It was just a touch of home.”
Rosecrans, who’s with the 101st Airborne Division, said he wasn’t quite sure what to do with all the Handi-Wipes that came in the package until there was a temporary water shortage at the camp and he had to use them as a shower substitute.
“They really did come in handy,” he said.
Care packages are only part of the Blue Star Mothers’ mission.
Soldiers, airmen, Marines and sailors returning from overseas duty can pretty much count on being greeted by a contingent of flag-waving Blue Star Mothers when they get off the plane or bus.
“It’s our of way of showing gratitude for what they are doing for this country,” said Roseanne Bianco, a Blue Star Mother with the Rio Rancho Chapter who first got involved in the group when her son, Navy Petty Officer 3rd Class Jon Frankel, was serving a tour in Iraq.
“It’s so important to be there for the families,” she said. “Their sons and daughters are giving so much for our country sometimes making the ultimate sacrifice we just have to try to help them through it all.”
Ellie
Blue Star Mothers’ care packages add ‘touch of home’
The Associated Press
ALBUQUERQUE — Marine Sgt. Travis O’Canna trudged into his billet, dog-tired and caked with dust after five long days on patrol in the hills of Afghanistan.
Looking only for a place to clean up and catch some much-needed sleep, the 24-year-old Albuquerque native found a welcome surprise sitting on his bed: a “care package” from home.
The Blue Star Mothers had struck again.
O’Canna, a former infantryman with the 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marine Division, said the packages, which graced most of the bunks in his squad at one time or another, made life a little easier during the nine months he fought in Afghanistan.
“We came in all hot, tired and dusty,” said O’Canna, who recently left active duty and returned to Albuquerque. “And laid out on our racks were these big care packages from home. Man, it was like Christmas.”
For the next several days, he and his bunkmates shared and reveled in their unexpected bounty.
“One of the nice things about the Blue Star packages is there’s plenty to go around,” O’Canna said in a telephone interview. “If there was a guy who hadn’t had much mail in a while, we’d all give him some of our stuff.”
O’Canna said he especially enjoyed reading the letters from schoolkids that were bundled in with the snacks, candy, neck coolers, batteries, paperbacks and other goodies.
“To know we had that kind of support back home was just awesome,” O’Canna said.
Support is the Blue Star Mothers’ stock and trade, said Sabrah Rolfe of Albuquerque, chairwoman of the care package committee for the Rio Grande Valley Chapter of the Blue Star Mothers. It’s a national service organization founded during World War II.
Rolfe has been a Blue Star mom ever since her son Christopher served in the Persian Gulf with the Navy.
“I recognized that a lot of mothers who, like me, have sons in harm’s way, need the support of someone who understands their situation,” Rolfe said.
Rolfe and other Blue Star moms in Albuquerque recently packed and shipped 325 Christmas-themed care packages to troops overseas.
Twice a year, the chapter invites families of troops to submit names and addresses of their relatives for inclusion on their list of care package recipients, Rolfe said.
“We all need that mutual support. We hold each other up,” she said.
Army Spc. David Rosecrans said care packages were a huge morale booster during his yearlong stint in Iraq, which ended in September.
While in Iraq, Rosecrans repaired and maintained Chinook and Black Hawk helicopters at Camp Anaconda, about 60 miles north of Baghdad.
“It’s always nice to get mail when you’re over there, but I really looked forward to getting care packages,” Rosecrans said. “They always had stuff that you couldn’t get at the PX, like the snacks, a deck of cards, or those little packets of green chili. It was just a touch of home.”
Rosecrans, who’s with the 101st Airborne Division, said he wasn’t quite sure what to do with all the Handi-Wipes that came in the package until there was a temporary water shortage at the camp and he had to use them as a shower substitute.
“They really did come in handy,” he said.
Care packages are only part of the Blue Star Mothers’ mission.
Soldiers, airmen, Marines and sailors returning from overseas duty can pretty much count on being greeted by a contingent of flag-waving Blue Star Mothers when they get off the plane or bus.
“It’s our of way of showing gratitude for what they are doing for this country,” said Roseanne Bianco, a Blue Star Mother with the Rio Rancho Chapter who first got involved in the group when her son, Navy Petty Officer 3rd Class Jon Frankel, was serving a tour in Iraq.
“It’s so important to be there for the families,” she said. “Their sons and daughters are giving so much for our country sometimes making the ultimate sacrifice we just have to try to help them through it all.”
Ellie