My first memory of a soldier was at the age of eight. He was a member of my local church, a typical all-American kind of guy. Handsome, clean-cut, strong and lean; even his name reflected his strength: Butch Cox. I didn’t know him well, but he was a hero in my small world. He had served a tour of duty in Vietnam, and now they were bringing him home to rest in peace.
As members of the community, my family’s duty was to attend his ‘viewing’ and funeral. I had to oblige, since my father’s word was unquestionable; I had no choice. This disturbed me greatly. I didn’t yet understand the loss of such life, and the impact of war. I had no idea what to expect, think, or feel, and I was absolutely terrified.
They told us he had accidentally stepped on a land mine, and his ‘remains’ were being sent home. You can imagine what ran through my tender eight-year-old mind. Eight-year old girls play with dolls and make play houses in the woods. They do not dream of wounded soldiers and grieving families.
So, kicking and screaming, I went with my family to the funeral home. In the palpable silence, I could feel his family’s grief. First, we greeted them and gave our condolences. There were lots of tears and tissues. And then, we were invited to ‘view the body’. I clung like glue to my dad’s legs.
As I approached the casket, the first thing I felt was peace. Butch looked as though he were sleeping. Not the mangled, destroyed image I had created in my young mind. His hands were folded across his chest, medals adorned his uniform, and the flowers surrounding him smelled sweet like summer. Yet, the quiet tears and silence around the room reminded me that his body was present, but his soul and spirit were somewhere else.
Graphic as this description is, it doesn’t compare to the tremendously atrocious experiences our soldiers have on a day-to-day basis. Even if they never fire a gun, the pressure and stress of just being away from home and their loved ones is not something most of us will ever truly experience.
This is why I believe in and work for our simple cause, Netroots For The Troops. If my story has moved you at all, won’t you please consider supporting our efforts to send CARE package to our military serving in Iraq and Afghanistan? Because life is short, and uncertain, and if you can make a soldier smile for a minute, that is truly a wonderful thing.
SIGN UP NOW!!!!
Although we started our fundraising several months ago, we're about to kick it into high gear. Netroots For The Troops is introducing NFTT 2010 Personal/Team Fundraising Pages. The idea is to empower each of you to multiply your personal donations by creating a Personal NFTT 2010 Fundraising Page. Through this page you will be able to approach your friends, relatives, neighbors, co-workers and colleagues etc to donate to NFTT via your page. We're asking you to sign up to personally raise $1000.00. If you were a small donor last year but wanted to do more, this is a way for you to increase your donation via your contacts.
While we're encouraging this to be individual efforts we're not going to discourage teams. For example; we have a mother/daughter pair who's last name is Hobbs and they're going to call the pairing "The Hobbettes". It was that or the Hobbitts and they liked the "ettes" better than the "itts".
Getting Started
There are two ways you can help: 1)Make an individual donation by clicking on the Donate button and/or 2) Register to be a Personal Fundraiser by clicking the Register button to the left. We're ready to help you get started by creating your own personal fundraising page! Once you've signed up, we will email (within 36 to 48 hrs.)to you a Fundraising Kit that includes sample solicitation letters, how to order business cards, and tips for how to ask people to support your cause.
Use your imagination to raise funds. Last year we had a kossack and her daughters raise funds at a neighborhood event by selling lemonade. Ask your church, temple, synagogue etc. to assist you in your effort. Approach a small retailer about "putting up a jar". Have fun with it. Make up a flier to put on every car you see with a "Support Our Troups" magnet on it.
What Can I Do On Daily Kos?
We're asking you not to post a diary for your personal pages on Daily Kos. Daily Kos is NFTT's home base and we'll still be posting general diaries for fundraising on Daily Kos. We're also asking that you refrain from posting comments within the general NFTT diaries promoting your personal page.
What you can do, is post a comment in Open Thread and other open forums requesting someone to go through your personal page to make a donation.You can also make your sig. line your donation page link. Just be courteous and polite in whatever you do for NFTT. People love supporting the troops, so you don't need to be overly aggressive in soliciting for their benefit. Your actions reflect upon all of us.
Netroots For The Troops mission is two-fold: annual shipment of CARE packages to US soldiers and Marines serving in hostile regions of Iraq and Afghanistan for the duration of their deployment, and on-going financial assistance for veterans and their families upon their return to the states.