This is the final diary in the NFTT blogathon series. I have been involved with NFTT since 2009 when I served as volunteer coordinator. I want to make this worth everyone's while, so I will offer a challenge. I will pledge 25 cents for every recommendation that this dairy receives. It won't cost you anything, and it will help make the lives of the troops a bit brighter.
We are not a military family, but a number of members of the blue jersey clan have served this nation since the Revolutionary War. Blue jersey dad is the most recent, and his story is fairly typical of many young men in the 1960s. Dad came from a very poor family, and he could not afford to go to college full-time. Back in 1964 when dad was 21, he was working and attending the Columbia School of the Arts part-time. He wanted to be a film-maker. While full-time students received draft deferments, part time students did not. Blue jersey dad received his "letter from the president" and was scheduled for a physical. At that point, he decided to enlist in the Air Force.
Blue jersey dad in basic training
At 21, dad was smart, myopic, and probably weighed 115 pounds soaking wet. The Air Force made him a military pay and travel accountant. Dad was fortunate enough to spend much of his tour in Hawaii, which was the Air Force's staging ground for Viet Nam. However, it all changed in January of 1968 after the Pueblo Incident. For those of you who are not old enough to remember, the North Koreans seized one of our ships, the USS Pueblo, claiming it was within North Korean territorial waters. It is considered one of the major incidents in the Cold War. Shortly thereafter dad was sent to Korea.
Please follow me below the colonial Cheese Doodle.
Dad and I talked about this the other night as I was getting ready to write this diary. Here is a rough transcript of our conversation:
Me: How did you feel when you were sent to Korea?
Dad: We were scared. No one knew what was going to happen.
Me: When you were in Korea, would you have appreciated a care package from home?
Dad: Yes, but my parents and family never would have thought about doing something like that.
45 years later there are lots of young men and women in Afghanistan who are scared because they don't know what is going to happen to them. There are other service members in the VA hospitals who are struggling to recover from devastating injuries. We can bring a little happiness to all those young men and women whose families may not send them care packages. You can help.
I want to end with the words that Tamron Hall uses in her new ad for MSNBC:
The troops aren't red and blue. They're not black and white. They're not male and female. They are Americans. When they put their uniforms on, they are Americans, and that's a fact.
Netroots For The Troops Blogathon: February 20-24, 2012
Netroots For The Troops® is holding a blogathon this week to raise funds to send Care Packages to our soldiers stationed overseas. For the first time this year, we will also be sending Care Packages domestically to troops rehabilitating at Veterans Administration Hospitals around the country.
We are asking all of you to support our efforts and to also make a contribution for this worthwhile cause.
We are honored and delighted that Senator John Kerry (D-MA); Democratic Candidate for the United States Senate from Massachusetts, Ms. Elizabeth Warren; and former Governor Howard Dean (D-VT) will be joining us through this week. Many Kossacks will also be contributing their thoughts, ideas, and support during the week.
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Over the years, many soldiers have sent letters to express their appreciation for these Care Packages and even posted thanks at Daily Kos
It was in the middle six months of my assignment in Afghanistan that the packages started arriving. I received an array of things from them… letters, candy, toothpaste, floss, baby wipes, razors, food, socks, books, dvd’s. The list could go on and on. It was amazing. Netroots for the Troops was always there... The packages were a reminder that our country knows about our fight. Every day, because of their support, I knew that if it was going to be my last day, I would be remembered and I would be honored.
Please make a donation HERE. Thank you from the entire 2012 NFTT Team.
Netroots For The Troops® is a project of Netroots for the Troops, Inc., a Virginia non-profit corporation. The organization raises money for the assembly, mailing and delivery of Care Packages to American military in war zones and to provide assistance to military families in the United States. Netroots For The Troops, Inc. is a 501(c)3 tax-exempt organization.
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