Americans have rushed to support our troops
If there’s one aspect to this war with Iraq that’s been encouraging, it’s that Americans haven’t shied away from showing overwhelming support for U.S. troops.
That’s been the case across the great nation and you don’t have to look further than the U.S. Postal Service to see it. Since the start of the war last month, the Postal Service reports the volume of mail sent to the Persian Gulf has increased 35-fold.
That increase translates to 750,000 pounds of mail per week being sent to the U.S. distribution center in Kuwait. That’s up from about 20,000 pounds a week before the war.
That pure volume of mail shows people across this great nation are eager to provide as much support as possible to the men and women risking their lives for the United States. And it’s welcome news to see that type of enthusiasm geared toward our military. That sort of positive encouragement was certainly few and far between during Vietnam, for example.
But unyielding support has been shown for troops during this war – even from people who are admittedly opposed to war. While that support has been widespread through the country, it’s been particularly pronounced here in Warren County.
Over the last two weeks, the single most commonly asked question directed toward Standard employees is how can we help our troops? How can we send these brave men and women cards and packages to show we appreciate the job they are doing?
Care packages appear to be extremely popular especially with recent news which indicates food and water aren’t abundantly prevalent in Iraq. And with soldiers having no time to bathe on a regular basis, baby wipes are a care package item that’s very practical.
The Standard is just one of the drop points around town where items are currently being collected. Other collection sites include the Senior Center, Tast-T-O and Wal-Mart.
Local teachers are also joining in the push to support our troops, as evident by the front-page story in today’s edition. The kindergarten students of Phyllis Snider at Hickory Creek Elementary is one class which has already gathered donations. Other teachers are encouraging their students to send cards.
This sort of support isn’t unique to Warren County. With 750,000 pounds of U.S. mail entering Kuwait every week, it’s obvious the entire country is joining together in this effort.
It’s refreshing to see the nation show such a united message of patriotism. It’s great the efforts of our soldiers and sailors are being fully noticed. We should never waiver in our support for our troops. These men and women are fighting in the name of America and are prepared to make the ultimate sacrifice.