My name is Sgt. Ric Roe. I am in the 1001st Quartermaster Company from Chillicothe, Ohio, I am currently at LSA Anaconda near Balad, Iraq.

I received 2 phone cards from your organization yesterday and would like to tell you thanks for sending them. They were donated by Ms. Caryn McInnes. I will be emailing a thank-you to Ms. McInnes later today. I used one card to call my wife, Michelle and my son, Austin (age 8) and daughter Aubree (age 7). It was treat to talk to them.

I gave the other card to SPC Jason Park who is also in my unit. He used it to call his fiancée Amy, who he had not spoken to in a month. He would also like to thank you for your generosity.

It is nice to know that while we are over here, far from our families, that organizations & individuals like you, are thinking of us. Thanks again for your generosity. It is greatly appreciated.

Sincerely,

Sgt. Ric Roe

Received the phone card gift to my crew today! Awesome! Thank you for your kindness, generosity and sense of kinship with your shipmates on the Golden Bear. I can assure you, our crew takes as much pride in our 39 year old Grand Dame as you all did when she was shiny new. I will distribute the cards through the CMC.

I am sure you will hear from the crew.

Sincerely,

McManazir
U.S.S. Sacramento

On behalf of the men and women of Electronic Attack Squadron ONE THREE SIX, I want to thank you and your newsletter readers for your support during Operation IRAQI FREEDOM. Your thoughtfulness and encouragement during a challenging and stressful time had a measurable impact on the morale of our young men and women.

The ability to speak to family and loved ones while at sea is a relatively new luxury and a huge boost to morale. Your phone cards presented our Sailors a significant gift, which was all the more valuable when you realize that when we began our 106 days at sea, we thought we would be home in two weeks. The cards were also given to new Sailors who had just arrived so they could call home.

As a permanently forward-deployed squadron the men and women of the "Gauntlets" seldom have the opportunity to return "Stateside". Your support is a wonderful example of the compassion and generosity of the American people and the ideas that we are fighting for. Again, thank you for your generosity, your thoughts, and your prayers.

Sincerely,

S.P. McInerney
Commanding Officer

My name is Dan Thomas and I am the lucky sailor that received the phone card that you sent. This cruise we have seen lots of support from home. An amazing amount actually. You happen to be the closest to my actual house that I have heard from. I work in VAQ-131 the "Lancers". We are on our way home to Whidbey Island from Hawaii today. I am looking forward to being back in the Pacific Northwest. I am originally from California. I came up to Washington with the Abraham Lincoln in '95 and have lived there ever since. So thank you for the support you are showing and know that it does make a difference.

Thanks again,

Dan

I would like to thank you so much for sending our troops the phone cards. Your thoughtfulness and generosity are appreciated.

It is very early in our deployment and I know having the cards will ease lots of burdens on the soldiers and their families.

Thank you again!

Sincerely,

Tracie Mouton
205th Engineering Battalion

I wanted to touch base with you again and tell you thank you for the phone cards.  My husband was able to use one to call my son for his 13th birthday.  He also got to call on a night when my 6 year old lost one of her teeth.  He always pulls them for her so it was really neat that he called at that time.  You will never know what this has meant to me.  To our family, to the rest of the soldiers of the 205th Engineering Battalion.  Your simple act of kindness has reached across the US and touched the very heart of all of us.

My husband is doing well.  I don't know if you know but there is a company called digitalwork.com that will set a webpage for military families for free.  They normally charge $10.00 a day.  If you know of anyone who could use this pass it on. There is a link at the bottom of their page that says free to military families.  They even called me on the phone personally to tell me it had been set up.

  Below is a picture of the commander and my husband is on the right (the commander's left)  They had a ribbon cutting ceremony for the aid station that my husband and his medics got set up and running.

Thanks again,

Janna Rowe

(Click on the picture to view larger size, which will open a new window. Simply close the window to return here.)

God bless you. The phone cards are a lifesaver. I have given them to our chaplain who has been giving them to soldiers that, for various reasons, need to call home and otherwise could not.

Thanks,

Douglas Mouton Ltc., Larng.
205th Engineering Battalion

I want to thank you for doing all you do for all of us. I got to talk to my 2 sons for the first time since we have been out to sea. It really means a lot to know there are people out there that support us so much!

Thank you!

Debra Durham
VAQ-137
December 2, 2003

I am writing this to say thank you again for donating the phone cards to the 205th Engineer Battalion. Our families are currently still deployed, but looking forward to an end soon. I will not ever forget this moment in time when you gave of yourselves for my family and the soldiers. I know that I have thanked you before, but somehow it hasn't seemed to be enough. What you consider to be a simple act, has meant so much to us and has helped to make this deployment easier.

This certificate was issued to, as a way of saying thank you for your support of not only the 205th but the families who are here at home doing what we can to support our loved ones. It is signed by the Battalion Commander Lt. Col Douglas Mouton. I hope it serves as a reminder to you of this time in our country's history and the part you had in supporting it.

Thank you again for your support of my family! We will always look back at this time and remember your kindness.

Sincerely, Major Douglas Rowe, Janna, Colton, Holden and Jani March 10, 2004

(Accompanying this amazing letter was a certificate from the Department of the Army, Headquarters, 205th Engineer Battalion, Operation Enduring Freedom, Bagram Air Field.)

This certificate of appreciation is awarded for your commitment to and support of the 205th Engineer Battalion during Operation Enduring Freedom. Come What Will!

Signed by CSM Kevin R. Allen, Command Sergeant Major and Ltc. Douglas J. Mouton, Commander.

(We are truly humbled by these letters and certificates. Karen & Skip)

Thank you so much for the phone card! I'm currently serving in Afghanistan but in the next few weeks will be making the long journey home to Louisiana. I will use it in transit through the many airports to call my family. thanks for your support. My brother is currently serving in Iraq. He will be there for at least a year. Perhaps you could send him one as well. Thank you again.

Standing tall,

Sgt. Sarah Smith
April 26, 2004
(I've got a batch of cards heading to your brother later this week. Thanks for letting me know!)

My name is Mark Hammett. I'm the regimental surgeon for 7th Marines based in 29 Palms, CA Right now, about 25,000 Marines & Sailors are out here in Western Iraq.

Gary Hoyt got a bunch of the MCI phone cards that the Sutton Place Gang sent for the service people out here. He's been passing them out to all of us here, and I got one of them.

I wanted to tell you that we appreciate your kindness. Phone calls home are the biggest moral booster that we have out here. Most guys (and girls) here live for the chance to get to a phone. The married ones don't always have a lot of spare money to burn up on satellite phone rates. Six hundred and seventy minutes is a big deal to everyone who gets one of those things.

I just wanted to say thank-you to you and your friends.

Sincerely,

Mark Hammett
CDR ME USNR
Al Asad, Iraq