The Military Personnel receiving Letters from Home packages truly appreciate the letters and cards that you send them. These are a few letters that were sent back as responses. While these are only some of the responses, we have gotten a lot of positive feedback from the soldiers over the past 9 years!
1/09/2012
I wanted to thank you very much for the boxes we received at VSP
Talukan (Panjwei District, Kandahar Province) from LETTERS FROM HOME.
besides the delicious (but not too saccharine) little treats that we
snarfled down, i got great use out of the surplus of red little
stockings, making a cozy kitty bed for the camp kittens during the
frosty winter months. we are all very grateful for the effort that it
must've taken to put everything together. i know one guy here
verbalized how impressed he was that people even bother sending
packages, even after 10 years of fighting. i don't know how many
emails you get from servicemen - a lot of guys sort of think that
because it's from an organization, the need to reply or respond with
thanks is reduced... whatever the case, i know everyone is super
appreciative of what's in the boxes. it's like pulling teeth to get a
decent little snack around here, so the packages are pillaged for all
they're worth.
Anyway, i hope you guys have a great christmas holiday. thank you
again for your sacrifice in putting together these packages.
01/06/2012
I would like to thank you for your support in sending out packages. I am a United States Marine and truly appreciate the time and effort to gain supporters that take time out of their lives to send us a piece of home. Thank you. May you be graced with much gratitude as you have show us. It really means allot to us. Definitely brought smiles to faces. And beside leading my marines, I also try to make it feel like home away from home. You truly hit home with the wonderful packages; especially when those that have family that can't afford to send anything. Thank you from the deepest part of my heart. Cpt Velez
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12/14/2011
Thank you so much for sending your love to Afghanistan. We just received the box you sent. Thank you we really enjoyed it. How was your Thanksgiving. Ours was not to bad. We are so ready to go home. Take care. Ashley
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12/5/2011
To the Good Folks at Letters from Home .
I am a platoon sergeant at Camp Eggs In Kabul, Afghanistan. During this year, you all had chosen our unit and my platoon to receive "care bags'". My Joes really appreciated the cards and letters and little things in the bags. We are right about to head home and ought to be home by Christmas. Before we left, I wanted to Thank you one more time. You will get a letter, letting you know that all of us made it home safe and sound.We appreciate all that all of you have done and continue to do for all the men and women in uniform so far from home. Until then, take care and God bless. SSG Davis
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Greetings Christine Jovenitti and Letters from Home Program:
I just want to thank you so much for the boxes I received today - 7/25/11. I received 5 boxes. OMG. That was so awesome. I was able to pass out boxes for the troops and to different units. I simply love all the art work that the children put into. It is just amazing. We are humbled by all this. Thank you so very much. We do this with such pride and motivation because of good people like you I am honored to serve for you. As troops are beginning to draw down, there is a sense of relief and also of accomplishment. we cannot solve all issues, but we try our best. I hope that this summer is treating you well. Our summer here is very, very hot. Right now we are at 125 - 130 degrees. This is only in July. In August temps can reach from 130 to 140. The heat here is a dry heat, but you will burn. Lots of water consumption. It is very crucial to stay hydrated here in Iraq. I really want to thank you so much for the care packages. you really placed smiles in our faces. Than you so so much. Please stay safe out there. Thank you for what you are doing for us. Thank you for also keeping us in your hearts and prayers. We need that. God bless you. Your soldier from Iraq. SPC Montalvo, Nelson.
Hi all: I am a Sailor serving onboard the USS George HW Bush. Today 8/4/2011 - one of my Sailors received 8 big boxes from your organization, which he distributed to the different work centers in our division to share the packages inside. I think what you are doing is absolutely incredible and it brought tears to my eyes to see how many people really care about us service members and think about us often. Something as small as a child's drawing brought smiles to the faces of those who don't get very many letters or packages since we've been out on deployment. I just wanted to thank you for thinking of us and making our day a bit brighter. It means a lot to us to know we are thought of by someone back home and we are appreciated. Again thank you for thinking of us all.
Sincerely,
YN2(AW) Melton
AIR DEPARTMENT
USS GEORGE H W BUSH (CVN 77)
(a little side note of the USS George HW Bush. It is the 10th and final NIMITZ-class super carrier of the United States Navy. It was named for the 41st President of the United States who was a naval aviator during WWII. It is home ported at Naval Station Norfolk Virginia and was commissioned 1/10/2009.)
Dear Loving Patriot,
Thank you! I just received one of your care packages, I wanted you to know that it means a lot to me. I am one of the many soldiers, airmen, sailors, marines and civilians over here who greatly appreciate all the love and support you show when you send the cards, letter, food, soap, and socks (I love the feel of fresh socks!). It means a lot that we know we are supported, and there are so many good and generous people back home. YOU are a big part of the reason we do this, why we leave our families and come here. Thank you for your spirit of faithfulness and your message of love. I am a Major in the US Air Force and I have served for over 19 years. This is my first (and last deployment) overseas. I have been here for 10 months and will go home at the end of September, and just a few months after I get back home to Colorado I will retire. This experience in Iraq has helped me appreciate how wonderful it is to live in the United States of America; a country in which you can choose to be who you want to be, and you are respected for what you do and not just who your family is or what connections you have. In America we are treated fairly, most people obey the law most of the time, and we are not judged if we don¹t practice the wrong religion, certainly nothing like I have seen here. We work together in America for common causes; white, black, Hispanic, Asian, middle eastern, Jewish, Muslim, Catholic, Protestant, Agnostic, or whatever. People usually trust each other there. Here (and in many other countries) they often do not. And everyone is generally treated fairly in America. Here women don¹t have the same rights as men, and people of different religious groups or political groups are often treated poorly or are even attacked and killed for it. We are trying to teach people here to change their attitudes. Some are learning, especially the younger ones, but it will take time. Be glad you live in a place with such freedoms, and know that they are worth holding on to and fighting for. We must work to keep them fighting against those at home and abroad who would take them away.
God bless you for what you do.
Chris Mortenson, Major, USAF
(this one is from a Military Mom.*** for privacy of names)
Dear ***: I got his address registered today- thanks again for always thinking of him. I know he and his shipmate thought they hit gold the last time they got packages. The website is really nice, these people are really wonderful, and I am as grateful as *** is. The little I do hear from him, he says that the monotony is difficult at times and I know it isn't just the goodies they send, but the cards and stuff from the local kids that he gets he really enjoys. It is nice to hear from other people when you are stuck on a ship.
Thanks again- ***
Dear Ms. Jovenitti
A gentleman (Captain in this case) showed a Letters from Home box to my squad and me, to which it warms the heart to so many letters coming from different locations across the U.S. showing support for us, the soldiers so far from home. With a little luck, I'll receive a reply letter from those whom I had written a "thank you" letter to. I hope that my primary letter really gets to an elementary school student. Such a program as yours does put knowledge of their giving of time and encouragement in their hands and real for them knowing the good they do for us. In this manner, we are not just a 30 second news bite on television or a news article in the paper set off to page 6. My unit has been here in Afghanistan for a couple of =months. If all goes well, we ought to be home by Christmas, which would make a good gift for our families. By this time next year, I will be back in the classroom teaching history to high school kids. If it would be all right with you, I would like to get my students involved in such a program as yours.
Again I wish to say thank you for your program, letters and support.
SSG Davis 1165 MP 6 Camp Eggers
Thank you for the package! Everyone was happy to get news treats from back home. I shared a lot of the letters and treats with the guys from my unit. It's always nice to hear from people back home and it's nice to know that you're thinking of us while we're far away. I'm a helicopter pilot deployed here to Afghanistan with the 26th Expeditionary Rescue Squadron. I fly HH-60 pavehawk helicopters (it's pretty similar to a Blackhawk of Blackhawk down fame, which the army flies, but with a few extra modifications). I've been working mostly in the Operations Center, tracking the aircraft and giving them situation updates and coordinating with the other agencies that control the airspace. Business has been pretty slow, which I guess is a good thing, overall. Our squadron's job is to fly Combat Search and Rescue, which means that we pick up soldiers, marines, and airmen who are hurt or get separated from their unit. The summer has definitely started here in the desert, It's getting pretty hot during the day and it doesn't cool down very much at night... Which means I'm about to go home. We've seen our share of camels trekking across the desert, there's a river that flows through Kandahar city a few miles to the North so it's a bit of an oasis.
Thanks again for thinking of us!
Capt Matt Zeigler
26 ERQS Battle Captain
Dear Christine Jovenitti and Letters from Home Program:
I just received the 2 boxes on April 15, 2011. I really want to say thank you so much. I was able to provide Easter bags to all our soldiers along with candy canes. Thank you so much. You really made my day. I love all the letters and cards from the school. It was aswesome. You guys totally rock! You have motivated us all. You have humbled us. Thank you for keeping us in your hearts and prayers.
Thank you so much.
SPC Montano
My unit just received a package from you all. I wanted to express my thanks for your patiotism. Things like this is what keeps my soldiers and I going every day. Thank you very much.
God Bless,
Specialist Melendy, Jason
i know i haven't written to thank you and i aplogize for that but the packages and letters from home really do make the difference out here its a real morale buster and really shows how many people care and support us over here; i'm not a man of many words but then again i don't think that words can decribe our thanks for what you do to support us Thank you Your Solider Charlie Riddle
We received some of the letters form your community. We would like to thank all
of you support. Our job make it easier when we know that we have America's
support.
Again thanks and god bless you,
CPT Ricardo J. Rodriguez
HHC, TF 44MED Commander
Afghanistan
Thank you and all the volunteers who put the packages together. I have never seen so many happy Soldiers at one time. All the Soldiers truly enjoying opening their bag of goodies. As they opened them they compare the wonderful things inside. It was a very exciting day for us. Most people have forgotten about us Soldiers in Iraq because “Combat Operations have ended”, but I will say that nothing has changed. We get through every day because of wonderful Americans like yourself and all the volunteers. Thank you so much for everything. You and your organization will not be forgotten.
God Bless
James Breckinridge
Sergeant Major
40th Military Police Battalion (I/R)