Making Smiles

It looked a lot like Christmas Thursday at American Legion Post 28 in Triangle.
Lined up on a counter inside the post home was an array of laptops, digital cameras, DVD’s, books, and video games, bound for a group of soldiers from Fort Carson, Colorado who had to call in an air strike on their camp in Afghanistan.
An Oct. 3 attack on the combat outpost in the rugged Nuristan province claimed the lives of eight American soldiers and forced the 56 survivors to call in a strike on their own position, leading to the destruction of the camp and all of their personal possessions, explained American Legion National Commander Clarence Hill.
“Their perimeter was breeched and they destroyed their own base,” he continued. “They got out with whatever they carried. Eight died.”
Soon after the attack, a soldier from Bravo Troop 3-61 Cavalry out of Fort Carson, Colo., sent an email to The American Legion. The soldier wrote that, “most people at home don’t even know… no one gives a …” Those words were posted on the Legion’s Burn Pit blog, along with a call for donations to help the soldiers replace the personal items they lost. The COP Keating Relief Fund was established with the goal of raising $10,00 to buy the soldiers I-Pods to help them pass the time and relive some of the stresses of combat, said Mark Seavey, new media manager for The American Legion.
“We blew through that is less than two hours,” he said.
More than $50,000 in cash was raised within five days of the blog posting. Target Corporation stepped up and matched that with a contribution of $50,000 in merchandise and gift cards. The American Legion and Target joined forces to purchase video-game consoles, videos, DVDs, books, magazines, digital cameras, memory sticks and other items that were destroyed after more than 300 Taliban-allied militants surrounded the outpost and attacked.
“This thing has really taken on a life of its own,” said Smith.
Legionnaires and others gathered at the Triangle post to prepare the items for shipping to the soldiers overseas.
“The reason for Triangle is that we wanted a post essentially within striking distance of Washington, D.C.,” said Seavey. “Obviously, the stuff has to be cleared through DoD [Department of Defense].”
Similar purchasing and packing events were also held in
Colorado Springs, near Fort Carson, and in Richfield, Minn., near the corporate headquarters of Target.
“This is an emotional issue for me,” said Gary Motsek, assistant under secretary of defense (program support), who was on hand to help with the packing. “You all came together because of our comrades-in-arms. To find out what has snowballed here is absolutely extraordinary.”
Soon after learning of the effort, Bravo Troop 3-61 soldiers began communicating with The American Legion via the Burn Pit blog site.
“Thank you all for your great support,” wrote Sgt. 1st Class Jonathan Hill. “We are not asking for much, but anything you feel that you want to send that would help get a smile back on the men’s faces would be great. We lost everything (material-wise)… but we did not lose our pride and will to drive on.”
All funds donated to the COP Keating Relief Drive are applied to the purchase or shipping of merchandise, said Hill. No administrative costs were covered through the donated funds. Due to the overwhelming response of the drive, future contributors are asked to send their support to Operation Comfort Warriors, an American Legion program that purchases comfort items for several wounded troops recovering in military health-care facilities.