Team,
I hope that this note finds you well. We’ve been busy this week, with more activity on the horizon for next week as well. We’ve heard from our friends up front about our last shipment, so we’ve got a lot of great things to report.
On Monday, we got the second half of our December shipment out. I think that we broke some kind of speed record in that the truck rolled up and dropped off the pallets with the 104 boxes of socks at 2:30 and between Carla slapping labels on them and me dragging them down to the post office we were able to push out 7,400 pair by 4:30. This took us to 10,000 pair for the month, bringing us to 735,000 pair since May of 2011.
Thanks to all of you who made this possible.
What’s a little more incredible is that the socks from our shipment last Friday have already hit the units that we mailed them too!
We heard from a number of units forward:
“On behalf of 3rd Platoon, India Company, we would like to extend our most sincere gratitude and thanks for the supply of socks sent to our platoon. It was a huge morale boost to the guys just before the Holidays.”
“Good morning sir, on behalf of the enlisted leaders of the battalion I wanted to thank you for not only the service your family has provided to our battalion, but that to our country.”
Thanks to all of you who help us make sure that we can continue helping the men and women forward.
I would also like to thank all of you who reached out to me and Carla following last week’s update. We are always grateful for your kindness and empathy, especially during this time of year. Once a Marine asked us about our “organization”, and I had to correct him. We are not an organization; we are a community that is focused on the care of the men and women who serve our country.
Or to be more basic, we are a family.
Last week, I had an experience that drove this concept home.
I received a note from a woman who is also a Gold Star Mother. Her only son was a Marine who was killed while serving with 3/5 during the battle of Fallujah in 2004. Following her note, I did a little research and was deeply moved by what I found as both of our sons were remarkably similar.
Both were shy young men who were well loved by their families and the people that they came in contact with. Both had to work hard to achieve what they set their minds to. Both joined the Marines right out of high school. The Marines transformed both from boys to men.
Both died on their first deployments. Both families were devastated by the news.
Both her son and Donald served in the 5th Marine Regiment, which is based at Camp San Mateo. At Camp San Mateo, there is a Memorial Garden that commemorates the fallen of the wars that the Regiment fought in.
For the Global War on Terror, there are two monuments, one for Iraq, one for Afghanistan. They are modeled after the concrete traffic barriers that were utilized during the war to protect installations from car bombs. On the memorial are the battalion insignia and then listed below the names of the fallen and the date of their deaths. The number of names for 3/5 on both memorials are significant.
For the lay person, looking at the names and dates, it might not mean a lot. For those who served with the unit, or people familiar with it, it is a map of the war and the battles fought. Fallujah for 3/5, Ramadi for 2/4, on the Afghanistan monument, Sangin for both 3/5 and 1/5.
As I look at the monuments, I am touched by the fact that neither of our sons knew each other. They came from different parts of the country. Their deaths were 5 years apart. Yet now, they face each other, with their brothers who fell with them, across that garden for eternity. They are a reminder of the cost of war and an inspiration to not only those that served with them, but for all those who follow. I think again of the fallen Marines mother. She is not a stranger. She is part of our family.
Reading the news today, there is no end of division. It seems sometimes that our Nation has divided itself into different camps, demonizing the other. How grateful I am for that mothers note that helped to remind me that regardless of our situations, regardless of our economic standing, regardless of our politics we are all connected.
One Nation.
One community.
One family.
Connected by the sacrifice of many. Bonded by our history of freedom. Driven to be better.
We aren’t quite done for the year. We’ll be pushing out some more boxes on Monday to the units that we weren’t able to get to last week. If you’d like to help, please take a moment to go to http://socks4heroes.com and make a donation. We can also use your help in getting the word out about our mission. If you can’t help us with a donation, please take a moment to forward this e-mail to everyone you know who supports those who wear our Nation’s cloth.
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 serving in harm’s way.