troop letter: taste of home

April 18, 2011

get us a bread maker through you

Mr. Williams,

My name is S Ryan l and am currently stationed in Afghanistan.
I want to say, first and foremost, that you are doing the Lord’s work
and I’m sure countless Soldiers have benefited through your generosity
and benevolence...Thank you for all your hard work and devotion to us
out here on the front, it truly means a lot. 

As a kid in junior high, I had watched the return of Soldiers, Airmen,
Seamen, Guardsmen and Marines from Desert Storm and knew nothing of the
exclusion from society that others had faced in years past. In high
school, I interviewed a friend of my Dad’s, Jon whom was a door gunner
in Vietnam, for a classroom assignment and was shocked to see him almost
come to tears when he spoke of returning from the war (conflict).  This
was my first true impression of the devastating impact a person faced
when ostracism and hate was directed towards soldiers who put their
lives on the line.  When I first joined in 1998 at the age of 19, I
relived that interview with Jon a few brief times and wondered, if my
fellow recruits and I were faced with war, how would we be accepted when
we came back?  True, they (the American people) had a new-found
appreciation of the Armed Forces, but I hated to see history repeat
itself.  Men and women such as yourself, keep my hopes up that our
country will not be destined to return to that behavior.

Recently, I had the privilege of meeting a great lady, by the name of
Jean B.  We got to talking about the things we miss back home and
she offered to get us a bread maker through you (whom I had not known
about previously.) To tell you the truth, I was actually surprised when
it showed up, accompanied by bread mixes.  Not sure if you know, but
having a piece of hot, steaming bread lathered with butter is a little
taste of home that brings comfort to my Soldiers.  Here is a post on
your website that Ms. Brasic posted by the way.
http://ourtroopsonline.com/troops/article/to_make_bread_for_them

We have since run out of bread mix and still savor the taste.  I loathe
people who ask for handouts but I suppose it’s for the guys and asking
for something to help raise spirits and morale is a good cause.  Is
there any way we could get a resupply of bread mix?  If you see fit that
the money could be spent elsewhere, I understand.  Thank you again for
all you have done and continue to do for our Armed Forces.