Putting a Smile on a Soldier's Face

“May no soldier go unloved, may no soldier walk alone, and may no soldier be forgotten until they all come home.” — Soldier's Angels mission statement

I am a military wife. I know what it is like to be home, alone with my children, when my husband is gone. He could be training or he could be deployed, but either way, we live without him. These times find him alone too. And while my soldier is married with children and we can send him care packages, not all of military men and woman have loved ones that can send them letters or care packages while at war. 

The other military wives and I felt as a group that we should show our support, as others had shown support to our soldiers. So, as a group we researched and found Soldiers Angels. Bethany Orozo, a military wife who just moved to Oak Lawn from Joliet, put it best when we were trying to come up with ideas of things to send out

“We need to think pockets, what do they need, or can eat that can fit in their pockets,” she said. 

"Soldiers' Angels is a volunteer-led, non-profit with hundreds of thousands of volunteers providing aid and comfort to the men and women of the United States Army, Marines, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard, veterans and their families," the site states. "'May No Soldier Go Unloved,' encapsulates the motivation behind Soldiers' Angels. The volunteers of Soldiers' Angels work tirelessly to demonstrate active care and concern for veterans, the wounded, deployed service members and their families."

Kim McElheny, whose boyfriend Aaron is a native of Minooka, said her mother wanted to send Aaron cookies when she and he first started dating, but he did not want to risk gaining weight. Undaunted, Kim chose to work with the other ladies in her local church and they crochet hat and helmet liners for when the weather gets cold.

Although Kim did not send food to Aaron that would fit in his pocket, she did send him something else that did.

“For our first Valentine’s Day, I had bought him a pocket watch,” she said. “When I send him letters and packages, I include pictures of me that are just the right size to fit in the watch. Basically, I send him things that will just keep his mind off of where he is.”

Morale in a box

For single soldiers, it does not matter that the items received in the mail are from strangers. They help the men and women get through their deployments.

“Just something as simple as a letter can lift your morale,” Army Spc. Alex Bumanglad, 29th BSB, Alpha Company, of Zion. “I carried my letters around with me and read them sometimes two or three times a day.”

Bumanglad is deployed right now, but was able to speak with Patch through Facebook.

Bumanglad did not disclose his angel’s name but said her letters and care packages helped get him through the horrors that he faced. He received weekly letters of encouragement, and of news from stateside.

And sometimes, the care packages were completely practical.

“I remember my first care package,” he said “It was a big box filled with smaller boxes and each one was labeled. One was a Sandstorm Kit that had eye wash, nasal spray, chapstick, a bandana, and sun glasses in it.”

Bumanglad said he remembers using all of it within an hour after receiving it.

“In the same box was a mess hall survival kit that had those little packets of ketchup and stuff from McDonald's,” he said.  “Just simple stuff like that made our lives so much better while we were over there”.

 When he wrote, he sent letters describing his favorite shows and foods and different things that he did for fun while deployed. His angel gave him updates on his favorite shows and sent monthly care packages of the very basics that he needed with a few goodies added.

“Opening a box after being in the field for days without any type of shower in sight, and opening up that box, and seeing the first package of baby wipe actually brought tears to my eyes,” Bumanglad said.

Bumanglad’s angel once sent him a package that allowed him to share with others.

She sent a personal DVD player with an entire box of movies and TV shows with it. His Angel let all of her friends know what his favorite TV shows and movies were and she had many people donate movies and money to get this care package put together. His squad had a horrible week and when they all gathered for mail call, he received his box. The military men and women opened it as a group, since she had sent a letter stating that something special for all of them was coming.  All of these hard working soldiers were able to enjoy a small piece of home and normalcy because of one woman’s wish to help.

The last time he was home, Bumanglad and a few others from his squad became angels themselves.

“People were there for us when we needed it, and we are going to be there for our brothers when they need us,” he said.

How to help

For my part, as a military wife, it is not enough to just send care packages to my soldier; my children and I also have become Angels to help give back.

I want my children to understand that even though their father is home right now, there are still other soldiers at war and away from their families.

We have been making the cakes in a jar to help our service members celebrate their birthdays while deployed.

As a group, we also collect basic toiletries and divide them into separate packages. It was hard for us to believe that the most basic necessities were so hard to get a hold of, so we make sure they have what they need and we will add a few little goodies with each box.

You can adopt an angel by visiting the Soldier’s Angel website. Or, you can donate items to a soldier adopted by Channahon-Minooka Patch, through Mom Ala Mode author Heather Frelichowski. E-mail her to make a donation.