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Messages from the Home Front
Friday, January 4, 2002
By Linda D. Kozaryn
American Forces Press Service

Pen Pals for Our Folks Abroad:
"I have a son in the Navy. In 2001, he was in the Persian Gulf, and I missed him terribly. ... If you need anything, you can email me and I will do my best to send what you need. You make Mom's like me PROUD!"
-- Kathy Papp of Iowa Park, Texas

WASHINGTON -- AFIS
A Vietnam vet in Alabama. A single Mom in Alaska. A World War II veteran in Big Fork, Montana. A fifth-grader in Minnesota. A chaplain in Tennessee.

These folks are proud of the nation's armed forces and they're not afraid to say so. Like thousands of Americans, they've sent holiday messages to U.S. service members overseas.

Since 1967, when Sgt. Billy Thompson wrote Abigail Van Buren and mentioned that a wonderful Christmas present to U.S. armed forces would be "just a letter from home," American citizens have been sending holiday wishes to servicemen and women stationed overseas every holiday season. Dubbed "Operation Dear Abby," the program has brought holiday greetings to hundreds of thousands of U.S. service members.

Military officials suspended this year's letter writing campaign due to the threat of anthrax being delivered by mail. The Navy's LifeLines2000 Services Network, however, offered to provide an online resource so the public could send holiday greetings to soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines or Coast Guardsmen. To send an e-mail message, or to read others' messages, go to http://anyservicemember.navy.milnav4/.

U.S. troops are currently serving at duty stations around the globe. They're combating terrorism in Southwest Asia, providing a secure environment in Bosnia and Kosovo, and patrolling the border between North and South Korea. These soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines are maintaining freedom far from America's shores, and people back home are grateful. Just as they have for more than 30 years, they're letting the troops know, and this year, they're doing it by email.
(More: DoD News Source)
2002 © The United States Department of Defense.

Dan