thedrifter
01-27-08, 08:07 AM
Marines, families given computers to help them stay in touch
Published Sun, Jan 27, 2008 12:00 AM
By DAN HILLIARD
dhilliard@beaufortgazette.com
843-986-5531
Brittany Freeman and her husband, Lance Cpl. Travis Freeman, dealt with his first overseas deployment in July 2006 by racking up a $1,500 cell phone bill.
Freeman's upcoming combat deployment to Iraq from Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort ought to be considerably cheaper, thanks to a computer donated by Operation Homelink.
About 120 junior enlisted Marines and their families gathered in a chapel at the air station Wednesday to accept refurbished desktop computers from Chicago resident Dan Shannon, president and founder of Operation Homelink. All were donated by defense contractor Raytheon Co.
All of the Marines present expect to be deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan by next fall. Only Marines at or below the rank of sergeant were eligible for a free computer.
Shannon founded Operation Homelink in 2002 after watching footage of military first-responders clearing debris from the site of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
"I just saw images on the news of men and women serving, and I hadn't served myself, so I found a way to give something back," he said to the gathered Marines. "I imagined what it would feel like to be in those shoes -- or boots, as it were. We have a passion that says we all owe a debt to you in uniform that can't be repaid. All we can do is make a small deposit."
Shannon started off by convincing his then-employer, a real-estate management corporation in Chicago, to donate three or four old computers to a nearby National Guard base.
Now, corporations like Raytheon, Microsoft and more are on Operation Homelink's list of donors. The nonprofit accepted both desktop and laptop computer donations at first but now accepts only laptops. There are still some desktops to be given away.
The computers given to Operation Homelink generally are office or general-use computers that have been replaced by newer models. The computers' hard-drives are stripped, new software is installed and they are hand-delivered by Shannon.
"Forty little miracles after that first donation, we've been able to hook up 2,600 families so far, from New York to Texas," he said.
Operation Homelink's Web site lists numerous thank you letters from military families that have used their donated computers to keep in touch via e-mail during lengthy deployments, but the overall message Shannon hopes to convey is more important than the computers themselves, he said.
"What I most often hear is this is important because it's a sign of support," he said. "As the war lingers on and comes off the front pages, it's important that people step up and say, 'You are not forgotten.'"
Lance Cpl. Harry Nieves, a member of the air station's fire-rescue team, expects to deploy to Iraq at the end of September for about seven months.
He'll leave behind a 6-year-old son and a daughter who just turned 1.
Nieves said his new computer should take the sting out of his first deployment.
"It'll help me watch my kids grow up while I'm over there," he said. "It's a good gesture and a good thing they're doing for us, so I am grateful."
Ellie
Published Sun, Jan 27, 2008 12:00 AM
By DAN HILLIARD
dhilliard@beaufortgazette.com
843-986-5531
Brittany Freeman and her husband, Lance Cpl. Travis Freeman, dealt with his first overseas deployment in July 2006 by racking up a $1,500 cell phone bill.
Freeman's upcoming combat deployment to Iraq from Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort ought to be considerably cheaper, thanks to a computer donated by Operation Homelink.
About 120 junior enlisted Marines and their families gathered in a chapel at the air station Wednesday to accept refurbished desktop computers from Chicago resident Dan Shannon, president and founder of Operation Homelink. All were donated by defense contractor Raytheon Co.
All of the Marines present expect to be deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan by next fall. Only Marines at or below the rank of sergeant were eligible for a free computer.
Shannon founded Operation Homelink in 2002 after watching footage of military first-responders clearing debris from the site of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
"I just saw images on the news of men and women serving, and I hadn't served myself, so I found a way to give something back," he said to the gathered Marines. "I imagined what it would feel like to be in those shoes -- or boots, as it were. We have a passion that says we all owe a debt to you in uniform that can't be repaid. All we can do is make a small deposit."
Shannon started off by convincing his then-employer, a real-estate management corporation in Chicago, to donate three or four old computers to a nearby National Guard base.
Now, corporations like Raytheon, Microsoft and more are on Operation Homelink's list of donors. The nonprofit accepted both desktop and laptop computer donations at first but now accepts only laptops. There are still some desktops to be given away.
The computers given to Operation Homelink generally are office or general-use computers that have been replaced by newer models. The computers' hard-drives are stripped, new software is installed and they are hand-delivered by Shannon.
"Forty little miracles after that first donation, we've been able to hook up 2,600 families so far, from New York to Texas," he said.
Operation Homelink's Web site lists numerous thank you letters from military families that have used their donated computers to keep in touch via e-mail during lengthy deployments, but the overall message Shannon hopes to convey is more important than the computers themselves, he said.
"What I most often hear is this is important because it's a sign of support," he said. "As the war lingers on and comes off the front pages, it's important that people step up and say, 'You are not forgotten.'"
Lance Cpl. Harry Nieves, a member of the air station's fire-rescue team, expects to deploy to Iraq at the end of September for about seven months.
He'll leave behind a 6-year-old son and a daughter who just turned 1.
Nieves said his new computer should take the sting out of his first deployment.
"It'll help me watch my kids grow up while I'm over there," he said. "It's a good gesture and a good thing they're doing for us, so I am grateful."
Ellie