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Deployed Troops To Receive A Charlie Brown Christmas
November 25, 2007
Christmas is an important time of year for most of us. Our children, of course look forward to Christmas and “Santa” arriving via the chimney to deliver gifts to all the good little boys and girls. Here in the US, Christmas is a time for families to get together and celebrate the holiday according to their traditions. For Christians, it’s a time to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. Christmas is a time of joy and fellowship and a time of year that most of us look forward to. In most American homes, a symbol of the season, is the Christmas tree. Last year at Christmas, I sent Marty a small decorated artificial Christmas tree, just to make sure that a little bit of home was there with him. Though I won’t have to worry about that this year, as he’ll be back home soon, there are many others who won’t be, due to their deployment.
But what about our Troops, who are deployed so far away from home during the Holiday season? It’s obvious that they’re unable to be home for Christmas to share the holiday traditions with their families. It’s a time of year that our deployed Soldiers miss terribly. One father of a Soldier, decided that he’d try to send a little bit of home to his deployed daughter and her fellow Troops.
In September 2006, Jim Ward’s daughter, Spc Luisa Gonzalez deployed to Iraq, Jim realized that this would be the first Christmas that his daughter wouldn’t be home and would be unable to share in the family tradition of cutting down their Christmas tree. So, Jim decided that he’d send Christmas to her. He attempted to send her a full sized, decorated Christmas tree. The US Postal Service, however, had other ideas, as the tree exceeded their height and weight restrictions. But he wasn’t about to give up and came up with an alternative plan.
“I was sitting around one night thinking about it and I don’t know why, but Charlie Brown popped into my head, and I was like, ‘Wait a minute. I got it,’” he said, picturing the scrawny two-foot tall tree featured in the holiday episode of Peanuts.
After searching for a bit, Mr. Ward found a vendor in North Carolina and purchased 75 miniature potted Alberta spruce pine trees. The trees cost him $20 apiece and that included lights, ornaments, as well as the cost of shipping them to Troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. Since then, Jim Ward has founded Operation Christmas Tree, which is a nonprofit foundation he started after he shipped the trees last year. This year, Operation Christmas Tree is preparing to ship 5,000 of the trees to the Troops in the war-zone.
“We don’t need it to be a full-sized tree, it’s the spirit of it, the tree itself that matters,” said Ward of Westminster, Maryland, who will host a tree packing event on December 1st, with the assistance of dozens of donors, including Representative Roscoe Bartlett.
For Jim Ward, the best part of Operation Christmas Tree, for him this year, is that his daughter won’t be receiving one of the Christmas trees, as she’s due to return to Fort Hood, Texas at the end of November.
If you’re interested in assisting in Operation Christmas Tree, please take the time to visit the organization’s website.
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[...] NutriSystem News & Info Blog wrote an interesting post today!.Here’s a quick excerpt Christmas is an important time of year for most of us. Our children, of course look forward to Christmas and “Santa†arriving via the chimney to deliver gifts to all the good little boys and girls. Here in the US, Christmas is a time for families to get together and celebrate the holiday according to their traditions. For Christians, it’s a time to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. Christmas is a time of joy and fellowship and a time of year that most of us look forward to. In most American [...]
[...] Original post here [...]
[...] Check it out! While looking through the blogosphere we stumbled on an interesting post today.Here’s a quick excerpt Christmas is an important time of year for most of us. Our children, of course look forward to Christmas and “Santa†arriving via the chimney to deliver gifts to all the good little boys and girls. Here in the US, Christmas is a time for families to get together and celebrate the holiday according to their traditions. For Christians, it’s a time to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. Christmas is a time of joy and fellowship and a time of year that most of us look forward to. In most American [...]
[...] Check it out! While looking through the blogosphere we stumbled on an interesting post today.Here’s a quick excerpt“I was sitting around one night thinking about it and I don’t know why, but Charlie Brown popped into my head, and I was like, ‘Wait a minute. I got it,’†he said, picturing the scrawny two-foot tall tree featured in the holiday episode … [...]
[...] Check it out! While looking through the blogosphere we stumbled on an interesting post today.Here’s a quick excerpt Christmas is an important time of year for most of us. Our children, of course look forward to Christmas and “Santa†arriving via the chimney to deliver gifts to all the good little boys and girls. Here in the US, Christmas is a time for families to get together and celebrate the holiday according to their traditions. For Christians, it’s a time to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. Christmas is a time of joy and fellowship and a time of year that most of us look forward to. In most American [...]
[...] Deployed Troops To Receive A Charlie Brown Christmas [...]
[...] wrote an interesting post today on Deployed Troops To Receive A Charlie Brown ChristmasHere’s a quick [...]
[...] Deployed Troops To Receive A Charlie Brown Christmas [...]
Dear Sir or Mam,
My name is SPC Dannica Smith and I serve in the US Army under the 101st Division, Ft. Campbell, KY. We were recently deployed for the second time in my 3 years of service to FOB O’ryan. We replaced the other unit at a difficult time and resources to help build morale are very low, not much was done for Thanksgiving because of the transitions. However, Christmas is close, but not so far away that my section (92G-Cooks) can’t attempt to find resources to make the dining facility full of Christmas spirit when the time comes. My Section chief, SSG Robinson was looking for Christmas decorations and the most we received was your website information. I didn’t see where I can put in a request so I hurried and e-mailed the best way that I could. We are really short on decorations, but a Christmas tree would help us so much more. We aren’t cooking yet, but we recieve 2 meals of hot chow a day here. I serve under 2/320th Field Artillery Balls Battalion and this is mainly a male battalion, but we have females that support them in combat support jobs. Alpha 2/320th is a very high speed battery and my section is just trying so hard to keep their morale up through this rapid redeployment that we all have to endure. A Christmas tree, if possible, would be a good start for us. We are really searching. Had we known where to go in the first place or had they already had one this would have been easier, but we are out of options and almost out of time.
SPC Dannica Smith
[...] Check it out! While looking through the blogosphere we stumbled on an interesting post today.Here’s a quick excerpt“I was sitting around one night thinking about it and I don’t know why, but Charlie Brown popped into my head, and I was like, ‘Wait a minute. I got it,’†he said, picturing the scrawny two-foot tall tree featured in the holiday episode … [...]