Writing to overseas soldiers is stopped
But a VFW program allows people to donate calling cards to service members instead
By Stephanie L. Jordan
Caller-Times
While at seas for months on end, Master Chief Robert Eisenberg can remember a time when a cure for homesickness was a letter from a stranger, even when that meant reading 30 to 40 in an evening and replying to all of them.
"There was nothing like getting a letter," said the Mine Countermeasures Squadron Three command master chief.
"I've saved a couple of them. They're packed away with 34 years of mementos. If you're out there, getting shot at, especially at the holidays, letters are poignant."
But this season children will not be able to write to sailors and soldiers whom they don't know at sea. As of Oct. 16, both Operation Dear Abby and the Any Service Member Mail program have been canceled because of the recent anthrax scare and increased mail security. There are no replacement programs planned, Pentagon officials said.
Any mail sent to Operation Dear Abby and Any Service Member will be returned to the sender.
But for those who still want to do what they can for sailors and soldiers overseas, help still can be given through Veteran of Foreign Wars programs or visiting veterans at area senior centers.
VFW's nationwide are conducting Operation Up-Link, a program that sends phone cards to service members overseas.
"This is a great program," said Dick Prewett, a member of the Flour Bluff VFW. "We've provided hundreds of hours of calling cards."
Anyone interesting in helping can call any local VFW post for more information, Prewett said.
The two big pushes to send mail would have begun Nov. 15, said Jim Turner, a Department of Defense spokesman.
Too much to handle
Turner said that the Military Postal Service Agency has stated that because of recent mail-related attacks, extra precautions are being taken. With the holidays coming, the bulk of mail would be too much for the agency to handle.
The idea for Operation Dear Abby started in 1967 when Sgt. Billy Thompson wrote Abby to tell her that 100,000 South Vietnamese orphans needed help. He also mentioned that a wonderful Christmas present for our armed forces personnel would be "just a letter from home."
When readers saw the letter, the response was overwhelming, and the U.S. Department of Defense dubbed the letter-writing campaign during the holidays "Operation Dear Abby.""It would be nice if they could work out the logistics," Eisenberg said.
"This is all new ground for the postal service. I think they'll be able to work it out because I think it's nice for the members overseas to know that the people at home support you." |
