What began as Terri Lee Soave writing letters to military personnel serving overseas, quickly evolved into a labor of love that’s cost the Leonard resident $7,500 and counting to get troops the supplies they need.
Soave, a self-described ‘Air Force Brat? who grew up all over the U.S. and in three different countries, belonged to an on-line military brats group when she came across the Operation Military Pride website.
After adopting service members to correspond with, she soon found herself sending them care packages.
Reading the letters, Soave was moved by what she’d read. It conjured up memories of how things have been for military service members of the past.
‘When you read some of these letters, they remind me of how everybody welcomed the guys home from World War II. The Korean War, though, was the forgotten war,? said Soave, whose career Air Force father served in Korea and took part in the Berlin Airlift. ‘Then there’s a whole generation of soldiers in Vietnam that everybody’s basically forgotten about.?
Since October 2007, she has been sending care packages to service members in Iraq and Afghanistan. ‘Some don’t understand; they think the military provides [these service members] with everything,? Soave said. ‘They don’t. They give them the basics.?
Those she’s written to and sent care packages to have been very gracious expressing their appreciation. One colonel, who was one of the first service members ‘adopted? by Soave, wrote her and asked, ‘If your Dad’s still alive, will you tell him ‘thank you? for me??
In trying to provide the service members with what they need, Soave has gone through about two inches? worth of customs forms throughout the year. While the forms and large flat-rate boxes are free, it costs $10.95 to ship each large box.
‘I use these since I can really pack a lot into them,? Soave said.
Among the items packed are the usual personal effects (including those needed for hot, dry climates), food supplies, candy, socks, notebooks, pens and books. She’s also sent Christmas trees, wool socks, Xbox video games, comic books, newspapers and magazines.
When it comes to magazines, Soave has subscriptions to ESPN and to The Sporting News. They’re then sent to the service members so they can keep up with their favorite teams and players.
Comic books that Soave sends go to military hospitals for bed-ridden service members to read. To a captain serving in Afghanistan, she sends boxes of clothes; the officer then gives those clothes to local children.
‘I’m hoping I can network so that I can just concentrating on having to pay for shipping,? she said.
So far, because of an article published about her efforts in a Detroit newspaper, she has received lots of books, comics and magazines.
When she’s not gathering items to ship, Soave also corresponds with many service members in the Air Force, Marines and Army. They exchange letters, e-mails and even MotoMail (a mailing service to correspond with Marines in Iraq). She also regularly sends get-well cards to those who are wounded.
‘My guys in Iraq will even say, ‘Don’t worry about us. Take care of the guys in Afghanistan,?? Soave said. ‘I think that says it all. It’s not like they’re on a base where they can run into town to buy toothpaste if the PX doesn’t have any. Besides, some of them in the mountains of Afghanistan don’t even have a PX.?
She added: ‘Their bases are nothing like the ones in Iraq in terms of what the have. They’re in the mountains and some of the guys have stuff airlifted into them. They live in very austere conditions.?
One of the urgent requests has been for GPS units for troops serving in mountainous regions. Enemy soldiers know the areas, whereas the U.S. troops don’t. ‘I’ve learned that the government-issued GPS systems they have don’t work there,? Soave said.
Among other things needed are hand warmers for troops in Afghanistan for use in guard duty (she is sending these along with black scarves).
For more information or to volunteer supplies or services, contact Soave at 810-444-4143 or e-mail her at tuzzah@aol.com.
For more information about communicating with and helping out American service members, go to www.adoptaussoldier.org.