Team,
I hope that this note finds you well. We’ve had a great week where we’ve been able to get socks out to our friends forward, heard from some of the units that we support, and have had an opportunity to look at what we’ve accomplished together during a difficult year. So, once again, we’ve got a lot of great things to report.
On Monday, we sent another 3,000 pairs of socks to Marine units in Iraq, Afghanistan, and the Middle East. We are optimistic that we’ve gotten socks out to anyone who wanted them.
We also heard from some of our friends forward. They write:
“I am pleased to inform you that we received a shipment from Socks for Heroes today. I want to personally thank you and your family for the support and the sacrifices you have made over the years. Our unit greatly appreciates the shipment and your global contribution to forces deployed aboard. Even the simplest gift is a gesture that means a lot to the men and women deployed here, especially during the holiday season. We will put these socks to good use as we continue to take the fight to the enemy!”
“Received your packages today. Thank you so much. These were a big hit with the squadron.”
“We cannot thank you enough for the socks. All my guys were very happy to get them. Truly appreciate your support for our troops at home and abroad. Happy Holidays!”
It made our day.
Thanks to all of you who helped to make this happen.
It looks like this will be our last shipment of the year. At best a difficult year, but together we’ve managed to pull more than our share of rabbits out of a pretty small hat.
At the end of 2019, we had shipped 679,000 pairs of socks. As of today, we are over 741,000 pair.
We’ve kept true to our mission of providing for the men and women in the fight. Not at the level that we had hoped for when we started, but we’ve managed to claw our way back into a position where we can again have a positive impact on the lives of those who have sacrificed for our protection.
This will probably be the last post of the year. Carla and I will be taking a couple of weeks off to charge our batteries, but before I go, I have one last story to tell you.
During Operation Desert Shield, a Congressman went on a trip to visit the troops over the holidays. He went to all the bases and asked what the service men and women wanted. Some wanted more phone and video time, some wanted better food for their holiday meal, there were requests all over the board.
At the end he found himself at a remote desert outpost that was staffed by Marines. Their conditions were at best rustic. There were no tents. There was no hot chow. There was a line of fighting holes with Marines scanning the horizon, weapons hot and ready.
The Congressman went to one of the holes bent down and asked the Marine what he could do for him to make his holidays a little brighter. The Lance Corporal looked up at him and without missing a beat responded, “You could bring us some more ammo!”
And people wonder why we do what we do.
As we head into the holiday season, difficult as they may be during the challenges posed by the pandemic, we can all remember what it is that we have to be grateful for.
We’re grateful for the men and women forward who will be standing post in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria. They do so wearing our socks.
We’re grateful for those who sail in harm’s way in the South China sea. You have made sure that they have been cared for.
We’re grateful for those who hunt terrorists on the ground and from the air. You have provided for them as well.
We are most grateful for you our friends who have stepped forward to help them when so many would not.
We’ll be shipping again in January. If you’d like to help, please take a moment to go to http://socks4heroes.com and make a donation or help us get our message out by sending this note out to anyone you know who supports our troops.
Carla and I would like to wish all of you the happiest of holiday seasons.
Thanks for joining us in our position in this fight!
Jim Hogan
In memory of our son, LCPL Donald Hogan
Posthumously awarded the Navy Cross
KIA 8/26/2009 Nawa, Afghanistan
We honor his memory by caring for Americans wherever they serve in harm’s way.