Last night, Barb Kelly and I were over at Camp Parks in Dublin volunteering at a “going away” party for a group of Army reservists who are deploying to Afghanistan tomorrow. The event was held at the community center on base. A mix of volunteers were there to make sure these troops had a good old fashion American meal before they head off to “the sandbox”.
We found out about this event from Denise, a Marine mom from Pleasanton who also has a daughter stationed in Okinawa.
Denise found us when we posted pics on a Marine family website. When we were at Parris Island for Kate’s graduation, we took and posted many pics of female recruits in training, so folks back home could see their girls. All the while Kate was in boot camp, I scoured the site for picks of Kate, but found none. Anyway, one of the pics was of Denise’s marine, who was still in training. She emailed us her profound thanks, and we found out she was local. Her and Barb struck a email friendship, sharing information and feelings that only a Marine mom can have.
Anyway, Denise was instramental in putting together last night’s function. Organizing volunteers from VFW, American Legion, and Pleasanton Military families, (and two marine moms and their families). The menu was tri-tip, chicken, hamburgers, hot dogs, scalloped potatoes, beans, salad, cake and ice cream, soda, water and coffee. The soldiers really seems to enjoy themselves. It was really cool to see these old guys from VFW interacting with these young men and women. There is a special bond that they share. All in all it looked like a successful night. God bless our troops!
