I never ask for anything usually except a few recs, or a letter now and then to your elected officials about one veterans issue or another, but today I am asking you to part with some cash for a very good cause, our troops overseas in either Iraq or Afghanistan, getting a package from home (the US) is a blessing for these guys, (how do I know, I used to be one of those guys, my wars were a long time ago, Vietnam and GW1) the best part of the time there, was mail call, people I had not heard from in years (Aunts and Uncles and some others) all sent goody packages, I gained so much weight during GW1 I had to go on a diet and lose 30 pounds when I got back.
Donation Page for Netroots Nation please type in the comments that it is for the Troop packages so the money gets credited to the care packages.
It only takes a moment, and you can donate as little or as much as you feel appropriate, but any amount helps and the product of your generosity is a connection between you and a man or woman currently serving in harms way.
More details on the expected contents of this year's packages, and other Netroots Nation 2009 details (in Pittsburgh this year) will be contained in future diaries from the sponsors of Netroots For The Troops, such as TexDem and others.
So please, on this memorial day, while remembering those that made the ultimate sacrifice, consider a donation towards those still far from home.
I write a lot about veterans issues, but seldom do I write about active duty troops, unless I am writing about PTSD or discharges for Personality Disorders so the Department of Defense can save money, by denying the mentally injured the medical retirement they should be receiving, the military bum rushes these troops out the door leaving them to fight for years then to even get benefits from the Veteran Administration.
VA claims that PDO is a pre-existing condition and/or was caused by something in your childhood, and once the military throws that label, it is up to the veteran to prove that the diagnosis was wrong and they actually suffer from PTSD, I know many Nam vets that are still fighting with the VA over these exact same type of discharges. Who here remember's Klinger and his Chapter 8, that is basically what they are doing to these soldiers and Marines, they deserve better.
The money donated will definitely go to NFTT and only NFTT. Currently NN09 has no other fundraising going on. All contributions go to NFTT. If NN09 decides to do fundraising in the future, they have a way of isolating the source of the contributions.
If you have some spare time here are some good links for Memorial Day articles or video's, first is Andy Rooney via VA Watchdog and then there is Joe Galloway
Early this year, Medic Randy "Doc" Lose, one of the survivors of the "lost" platoon of Bravo Company, 1st Battalion 7th U.S. Cavalry in the Ia Drang, was buried in the National Cemetery in Biloxi, Miss..
Doc Lose earned a Distinguished Service Cross for his actions in saving the lives of a dozen wounded men who were trapped behind enemy lines for over 24 hours. He was wounded four times as he crawled from man to man, plugging their wounds with C-Ration toilet paper after he ran out of bandages.
Doc never got over the experience. The Vietnam War killed him just as certainly as it did the 79 other men of his battalion who died during those three days in the valley of death. May God rest his soul and grant him peace.
For those of you who do not know Joe Galloway is a reporter who went into the La Drang Valley on his own, he jumped on "Snakes" helicopter and put himself onto one of the worst battlefields of the Vietnam War, he is a very respected voice in the veteran community, he walked the walk and he knows what it is like. If they ever gave a Combat Infantrymans Badge (CIB) to a civilian, he is one of the few that I know that deserves one.