Soldiers' Angels

A good friend of mine sends me a column from her local hometown paper. Rhea is a very interesting person with great insight and I always look forward to seeing what she has to say. This one especially got my attention and I quickly signed up to be a "Soldiers Angel". I can't wait to find out which soldier I will be assigned to. I love to write letters and haven't had anyone who cared to receive them since my grandmother passed away in April. I have a lot of nice stationary that I've been aching to scribble on.

Soldiers’ Angels

By

Rhea Bouchard Powers


I have long been a devotee of the gentle art of written correspondence. I have been writing letters almost all my life. From the time I could take pen or pencil in hand and put words on paper, I wrote. I corresponded with my grandmother and aunts in Cohoes, New York. I wrote to Uncle Edgar and later to Uncle Billy when they were in the Navy. I penned sporadic letters to pen pals in Wales and Germany. I wrote to the Pope when I was 8 or 9 years old, much to the chagrin of my mother who was flummoxed when an envelope addressed to me arrived from the Vatican some weeks later. Silly as it may sound to some, I’ve even corresponded for the past 9 years or so with a lady named Diane who lives about a mile or two from here. We’ve long since met in person and become friends, but we still write to each other about once a week.

Given my history, it came as no surprise when my daughter Kathy thought I might be interested in signing on with a group called Soldiers’ Angels. Their mission is to insure that our military personnel stationed overseas receive regular mail from back home. Being over there is bad enough. Being over there and never getting mail is even worse.

According to my son-in-law Ken, a 6-year Navy veteran, mail call was a very big deal whenever they pulled into port. A handful of letters from Kathy was always waiting for him, and rather than read them all at once, he would ration them out over several days to make them last longer. He said he felt really bad for the guys who walked away empty-handed after the last name had been called.

Kathy is currently writing to two soldiers. My grandson Nick writes to one. I now have two military pen pals, a sergeant named Katie who’s stationed in Iraq, and another soldier named Brett, about whom I know nothing but his address as of yet.

Just in case you might be interested in joining the letter-writing brigade, let me explain how it works.

Soldiers’ Angels’ mission, as I said, is to provide aid and comfort to members of our armed forces. Their adopt-a-soldier program puts you in touch with one soldier. According to their website, “To adopt a soldier you must commit to sending a card or letter a week, and at least 1 or 2 care packages a month. This is important to help bring home a healthy hero. Care packages do not have to be expensive and you can put together your own. Duration of adoption is usually 6 to 8 months.”

I’ve sent packages twice so far, using their suggestions as to what may be appropriate. Things like individually- wrapped hard candies, snacks, toiletry items, and playing cards. Extra socks are apparently a good item, too. My last shipment included tins of homemade cookies, beef jerky, and trail mix (a special request from Katie).

Packing supplies were obtained free of charge by calling the Postal Service at

1-800-610-8734, and requesting a free military pack. Cost of shipping has run me about $6.00 a box.

The letters are easy. Just write as if you’re talking to them. Tell them about yourself, things that are going on, chatty, inconsequential everyday stuff. And remember that the object of the game is to provide them (not you) with mail. The organization warns that you may or may not ever hear back from your soldier, but you must continue sending mail. It took at least 6 weeks for me to hear back from Katie and her letter was cause for great celebration here.

For more information, and to sign on if you’re interested, log on via computer to: “Soldiers’Angels.” I’m not very good with the computer, but even I managed to find my way through. I’m very glad that I did.

P.S. Let me know how you make out if you decide to do it. I’d really like to hear from you.