thedrifter
03-02-08, 08:22 AM
Couple honoring their soldier son
After sergeant died in Iraq, they started collecting letters, items for care packages to send to troops serving abroad
By Leonel Sanchez
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
March 1, 2008
Kirsten Yuhl-Torres was scared in September as she placed collection boxes in the teachers' lounges at the four El Cajon schools where she works even though they were for a good cause.
The school psychologist attached a note in each box, introducing herself as the mother of a fallen U.S. soldier, asking for donations to send to U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. Letters to include with the care packages were also appreciated, she wrote.
She left a cake with an American flag at each place. Yet she still worried: “What if no one donates? I'll be heartbroken.” But she continued what she was doing.
Yuhl-Torres, 47, and her husband, Vern Torres, 50, were deeply appreciative when the boxes filled up with food after only a few days. “So many people cared,” she said.
For the Alpine couple, it meant they could continue the project they started to honor their son, U.S. Army Sgt. Joseph W. Perry, who was killed in Iraq on Oct. 2, 2006.
“You never get over it. You move forward with it,” said Vern Torres, who was Perry's stepfather. “We're really just following his lead.”
The Granite Hills High School graduate decided to enlist after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. He picked the Army because his mother had been a soldier. He had less than two months to go on his second tour of Iraq when he was felled by a sniper while on patrol in Baghdad.
The couple spent that Christmas volunteering at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, where a nonprofit group ran a video library for soldiers recovering from injuries.
The couple wanted to do more and by spring they were sending care packages from their home to hundreds of U.S. soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan. They spent thousands of dollars and weren't sure how long they could continue when Yuhl-Torres put out the collection boxes.
“That was the turning point for us,” Yuhl-Torres said. “I had no idea that it would grow like it has.”
The couple's “Support the Troops” program is now at 11 schools in the Cajon Valley Union School District. President Bush mentioned their efforts in his annual holiday radio address along with the work of other families who lost service members in Iraq.
“All these families have already given so much to America, and yet they have found a way to give even more,” Bush said.
Teachers at the participating schools said they were moved by the couple's story.
“Their passion to help our soldiers is contagious,” said Vicky Jones, a teacher at W.D. Hall Elementary. “I just said 'Sign me up. What do I do?' ”
The fifth-graders in her classroom adopted soldiers on their own, she said. They have set up a collection box for food items and regularly write letters to soldiers.
“I know it makes them real happy that they're getting letters,” said Karli Johnston, 10. “I think it's awesome that I can send a letter so far away and get a reply.”
Gregory Chase, another W.D. Hall Elementary teacher, remembers receiving letters from students when he served in Operation Desert Storm in 1991.
“They'd ask the sweetest questions,” he said. “Nothing builds your morale more.”
Yuhl-Torres said she reads the letters in the care packages before they go out to soldiers.
One exchange between an elementary school student and a soldier still brings her to tears: “A little girl wrote 'Whatever happened to world peace?' and the soldier wrote back: 'I don't know what happened to world peace but I can tell you there will always be an American soldier to fight for it.' ”
The couple sends care packages to more than 300 Army troops from Fort Bragg, N.C., who are stationed in Iraq and Afghanistan, everything from juice boxes to microwaveable meals and cereal bars to gift cards and hand-held video games.
They also take donations every week to injured soldiers recovering at the San Diego Naval Medical Center in Balboa Park and homeless veterans at a shelter run by the Veterans Village of San Diego in the Midway area.
They continue to work with the national nonprofit group that gave them their start. They have signed up to volunteer at the video/games library the group plans to open at the Balboa Naval Hospital.
“I find them to be heroic,” said Barbara Lau, executive director of Comfort for America's Uniformed Services, which helps soldiers recovering at military hospitals.
“They've tried to take this tragedy and bring meaning to it by devoting their time and energy to soldiers who are still alive,” Lau said.
Yuhl-Torres said her son continues to inspire her to do good works.
She thinks back to that day in September when she asked for permission to place collection boxes to send to soldiers.
Her son would have turned 24 that day. She had planned to stay home from work but decided against it: “No, I said. I'm not going to stay home and grieve. We're going to do something good today.”
Sgt. Perry's family continues to ask for donations and volunteers. The couple can be reached through e-mail at sgtperrycorp@cox.net. For more information about Comfort for America's Uniformed Services, visit the group's Web site at www.cause-usa.org.
Leonel Sanchez: (619) 542-4568; leonel.sanchez@uniontrib.com
Ellie
After sergeant died in Iraq, they started collecting letters, items for care packages to send to troops serving abroad
By Leonel Sanchez
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
March 1, 2008
Kirsten Yuhl-Torres was scared in September as she placed collection boxes in the teachers' lounges at the four El Cajon schools where she works even though they were for a good cause.
The school psychologist attached a note in each box, introducing herself as the mother of a fallen U.S. soldier, asking for donations to send to U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. Letters to include with the care packages were also appreciated, she wrote.
She left a cake with an American flag at each place. Yet she still worried: “What if no one donates? I'll be heartbroken.” But she continued what she was doing.
Yuhl-Torres, 47, and her husband, Vern Torres, 50, were deeply appreciative when the boxes filled up with food after only a few days. “So many people cared,” she said.
For the Alpine couple, it meant they could continue the project they started to honor their son, U.S. Army Sgt. Joseph W. Perry, who was killed in Iraq on Oct. 2, 2006.
“You never get over it. You move forward with it,” said Vern Torres, who was Perry's stepfather. “We're really just following his lead.”
The Granite Hills High School graduate decided to enlist after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. He picked the Army because his mother had been a soldier. He had less than two months to go on his second tour of Iraq when he was felled by a sniper while on patrol in Baghdad.
The couple spent that Christmas volunteering at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, where a nonprofit group ran a video library for soldiers recovering from injuries.
The couple wanted to do more and by spring they were sending care packages from their home to hundreds of U.S. soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan. They spent thousands of dollars and weren't sure how long they could continue when Yuhl-Torres put out the collection boxes.
“That was the turning point for us,” Yuhl-Torres said. “I had no idea that it would grow like it has.”
The couple's “Support the Troops” program is now at 11 schools in the Cajon Valley Union School District. President Bush mentioned their efforts in his annual holiday radio address along with the work of other families who lost service members in Iraq.
“All these families have already given so much to America, and yet they have found a way to give even more,” Bush said.
Teachers at the participating schools said they were moved by the couple's story.
“Their passion to help our soldiers is contagious,” said Vicky Jones, a teacher at W.D. Hall Elementary. “I just said 'Sign me up. What do I do?' ”
The fifth-graders in her classroom adopted soldiers on their own, she said. They have set up a collection box for food items and regularly write letters to soldiers.
“I know it makes them real happy that they're getting letters,” said Karli Johnston, 10. “I think it's awesome that I can send a letter so far away and get a reply.”
Gregory Chase, another W.D. Hall Elementary teacher, remembers receiving letters from students when he served in Operation Desert Storm in 1991.
“They'd ask the sweetest questions,” he said. “Nothing builds your morale more.”
Yuhl-Torres said she reads the letters in the care packages before they go out to soldiers.
One exchange between an elementary school student and a soldier still brings her to tears: “A little girl wrote 'Whatever happened to world peace?' and the soldier wrote back: 'I don't know what happened to world peace but I can tell you there will always be an American soldier to fight for it.' ”
The couple sends care packages to more than 300 Army troops from Fort Bragg, N.C., who are stationed in Iraq and Afghanistan, everything from juice boxes to microwaveable meals and cereal bars to gift cards and hand-held video games.
They also take donations every week to injured soldiers recovering at the San Diego Naval Medical Center in Balboa Park and homeless veterans at a shelter run by the Veterans Village of San Diego in the Midway area.
They continue to work with the national nonprofit group that gave them their start. They have signed up to volunteer at the video/games library the group plans to open at the Balboa Naval Hospital.
“I find them to be heroic,” said Barbara Lau, executive director of Comfort for America's Uniformed Services, which helps soldiers recovering at military hospitals.
“They've tried to take this tragedy and bring meaning to it by devoting their time and energy to soldiers who are still alive,” Lau said.
Yuhl-Torres said her son continues to inspire her to do good works.
She thinks back to that day in September when she asked for permission to place collection boxes to send to soldiers.
Her son would have turned 24 that day. She had planned to stay home from work but decided against it: “No, I said. I'm not going to stay home and grieve. We're going to do something good today.”
Sgt. Perry's family continues to ask for donations and volunteers. The couple can be reached through e-mail at sgtperrycorp@cox.net. For more information about Comfort for America's Uniformed Services, visit the group's Web site at www.cause-usa.org.
Leonel Sanchez: (619) 542-4568; leonel.sanchez@uniontrib.com
Ellie