The Morgan Hill community has offered up its share of sons and
daughters to the military and is as anxious as every other right
now but one small local group is going out of its way to support
the troops as well.
The Morgan Hill community has offered up its share of sons and daughters to the military and is as anxious as every other right now but one small local group is going out of its way to support the troops as well.
These Morgan Hill residents solicit and collect letters to military service personnel to be included in care packages sent overseas. The project, which started last summer, came from emotions stirred up by Sept. 11, 2001, and the subsequent war against terrorism.
Gina Six is one of these people.
“All I remember as a child about the Vietnam War are the casualty reports on the evening news with Walter Cronkite. I always looked to make sure our numbers were lower than theirs. It was my way of thinking we were winning. The casualty lists never equated to actual people in my child’s mind.
“Now, with the current state of world affairs, I’m concerned that we have another like situation on our hands, and I want to help let our military personnel know that we care about them. Our sons are 20 and 21 and I cannot begin to imagine them in the sandlot. These soldiers are not just numbers of 300,000 plus. They are our country’s sons and daughters, people who need our love and support.”
“Letters to Our Troops” is a YourMorganHill.com (YMH) project. The project sends non-profit organizations that ship care packages to our military service personnel. Each care package includes a personal letter from home for the recipient.
Six said the packages and letters were requested by commanding officers for their troops but that the names and addresses would remain private.
“We will not be releasing these names or addresses to the public or posting them on any websites,” Six said. Some names and addresses appearing on websites has caused the Department of Defense to call for a stop to the practice, Six said.
Mary Ellen Salzano, a local Realtor, and mother of PFC Ethan Salzano, a 2002 Live Oak graduate and U.S. Marine stationed in Pensacola, Fla. crossed paths with Six of YMH; the two realized they had a common interest. Salzano knew someone who was re-starting an effort he was involved with during the Gulf War era that sent care packages to the troops.
The care package effort, OperationYellowRibbon.org (OYR) tried to include a letter from home in every care package. The connection worked: OYR needed letters and YMH was collecting letters. Jared Sowards of San Jose, the man behind the OYR effort, met the YMH group.
“Let me first say that it is a wonderful thing you are doing,” Sowards said.
Sowards asked Steve Kudo, another of YMHite, to help further the Operation Yellow Ribbon cause by creating a website for them with help from Six and Salzano.
The response through the website has been overwhelming, Six said. People are finding the letters campaign through Internet search engines while looking for ways to show their support. Letters to Our Troops receives packages of children’s drawings, letters of support, and e-mails from all over the U.S.
Salzano has another view of troop support.
“I wear the hat of a Marine Mom, and the heart of a mom, and I am in pain right now. When I wake in the day, I pray for the health and safety of our military, those who have chosen to keep vigilance over our country, and other parts of our world so that peace and calm is taken for granted, as well as other freedoms.”
Six said the people involved in the troop support effort may share varying ideas of the world situation, politics or religious beliefs. But they all share one common goal and Kudo had another perspective.
“I am the only American-born child of Japanese immigrants who came to the States in 1955. Most of my relatives went through the internment camps of World War II. The “all for one and one for all” concept has a very different and deep meaning for me, because of my heritage and the examples set by my parents and relatives.
“I don’t think that many of us really appreciate the freedoms that we have. Each and every American has the freedom to determine for themselves what loyalty to our country means. True loyalty comes from the heart and cannot be dictated.
“I’m not clear on my political stance, but supporting our troops is a no-brainer. Our troops protect our way of life. They guarantee our freedoms by doing our bidding for us at the risk of life and limb. For that I am eternally grateful and will do my part to support them.”
Probably the simplest message came in an e-mail to YMH for the troops from a child.
“I am 11 years old. My mom says I can write to you. I am glad you are helping our country. I am scared of war. At least the U.S. has good people to help us stay safe and my mom says we help other people to. Please stay as safe as you can and I will say a prayer for all of us.”
Six has a motto for the effort: “Great causes come from great communities.”
You can help the support effort by logging onto www.YourMorganHill.com or www.OperationYellowRibbon.org Letters may be mailed to: Our Troops, P. O. Box 1179, Morgan Hill, CA 95038
