Big thank you from U.S. troops overseas

An open letter sent to Help U.S.A. Troops, which collects items for active duty military members and ships them overseas.

First I would like to thank you all for the items in the care packages. Mostly the soap and other hygiene items. We are currently in Camp Taji Iraq and there is a small PX here, but it is very limited in the items that it carries. Getting supplies here to sell to the soldiers of all the armies that are here is hard.

And when supplies do make it here, they go quickly. So we appreciate the soap and toothbrushes and all the items you sent to us.

Also the letters you send are fun to read. The heartfelt letters from adults reassure us that there are people back home besides our families who are thinking about us and support what we do. And the funny letters from the children are fun to read and give us some humor during our often very serious days.

I want to specifically thank Veronica L., Olga G., Jolyn Elliott, Stacy Etchison, Kristopher Mason, and Aberham M. for the letters they sent.

Also thank you to all the unnamed men and women who work constantly behind the scenes to organize these care packages to us.

We appreciate that you take time and money out of your busy days at home to send us these reminders of your support. It is one thing to say you support the troops but another to actually send us something.

So thank you all for your continued support of our mission and the overall U.S. mission abroad.

Sgt. John Hylander

1 Infantry Division