He is LCPL Palaro and is a Marine deployed in Iraq. I went to his house to talk to his mother and see how i could get a hold of him. I spoke with her for awhile and she appeared to be happy that i stopped by. With the exception of being tired and breaking his ankle from jumping off of a tower/building while getting shot at, my friend is doing well. I guess he had nowhere else to go to dodge the bullets so he was forced to jump off. So, i'm going to start sending him some letters and a bunch of other stuff that he would want.

Good on you for checkin' up on your friend! Methinks families are happy to find others are thinkin' of their loved ones deployed in harms way, eh? Speakin' from experience it may not seem like much, but to them 'twould seem it means everything.

Probably the one thing most appreciated by most folks over there are those impregnated sheets they can use in the field for hygiene. Baby Wipes, SaniWipes, Clean Wipes or whatever they're called, methinks the brand makes little difference as long as they can get some semblance of clean between showers, which may be few and far between. The ones that contain aloe are most appreciated 'cause they help relieve some of the minor skin irritations they develop, eh? When they've got extras they trade them amongst themselves for other stuff they want.

Yeah, his mother said that i was the first of all the friends to stop by and ask about him. I was surprised considering that he is in IRAQ risking his life. Goes to show you who the true friends are.

Thanks for the input on the wipes. I am going to make a rather large package for him with a ton of stuff in which he would want and will most likely send a few containers of these. Anything else you think he might want?

Maybe a couple bottles of that waterless hand sanitizer would be good, but methinks the most important thing'd be a good long note from you lettin' 'im know what's goin' on at home from the perspective of someone his age, eh? The note'll probably be the most welcome, and if you can write one every week or ten days it'll really do a lot for him!

'Twould seem folks here get hung up on the importance of sendin' stuff, but methinks sendin' thoughts and good wishes is far more important. You might ask if there's anything he really needs, that way you won't be sendin' anything useless, eh?

On top of what Fly posted, there was a forum about this kind of stuff a while ago, maybe you could track that down? I'll see what kind of time I have right now, but I can't promise anything.

You are a delight to have on this board. I wish your friend well. Tell him there are a bunch of us that wish him well.

Understood. Yeah, i'm planning on sending quite a bit of letters but considering he is pretty busy over there, i'm not sure how often he will be able to write back. Since arriving there on September 5th, he has patrolled 5 different cities. Regardless of if he can write or not, i'm sure he'd like recieving the letters.


Thanks.


Thanks Cardinal, i'll let him know you said that.

What a good friend you are ! And I know that he will appreciate it that you stopped by to see his mother- hopefully, you will be able to do that from time to time.

The only other thing I can think of to send are maybe some pictures (?)- and let him know that
you have another copy for when he comes home, so he does not have to worry about losing the ones you send.

A friend down the street has a son in the Marines who is now stationed in Africa. He loves to correspond in any way that he can. He has been fortunate to have access at times to a computer
and sends us all pictures. He just loves to hear about all the things that we think of as mundane- any old thing. Who's doing what, who did something stupid, what neighbor or friend did whatever....

And, you are right- your friend will probably not have much time to write back but he will certainly appreciate hearing from you on a regular basis. You can let him know that you don't expect to get a response all the time.

Again- I am so proud of you.

Everyone should have a friend like you, Fellow Democrat. As cardinal said, let your friend know there are those here who are thinking about him!

Thank you both for the kind words... they're appreciated. I will take everything i read in here into consideration and will most likely end up implementing the ideas into actions. I'll definitely tell him that there are people other than myself, who are wishing him the best.

Fellow Democrat, I had a thought here where everyone participation at CGCS can share in.

How about if the members of CGCS adopts LCPL Palaro's platoon? We could all participate in making these guys life a little better, send a few comforts from home as well as letters telling them we really do care about them.

What do you think?

I'd like to see what everyone thinks about this.

[quote

Methinks we hit a little bump in the road as the above was postin', so lemme try it again, eh?Methinks 'tain't a half bad idea! IMHO the only qualifier is that y'all gotta be real careful 'bout postin' any personal info in a public forum, as some of us learned from past experience, eh? A generic address for members of the platoon's squads would probably be good though. Specifics could be passed through PMs or e-mail.

What to Send to Deployed Military
Keep in mind your Marine needs these items, but he/she has to carry this stuff. Keep it small. If it can fit in a pocket, that's perfect. Try to buy travel-size or sample size. In many locations, there is no PX. The sand and wind are intense in some overseas locations, so some of these things are specific to that need. All lists are items the Marines have specifically asked for January 2003 through March 2, 2005. The most often requested items: letters, cigarettes, batteries, socks, drink mixes, and reading material; in that order. I mailed 2 or 3 of everything. They will share; they take care of each other.
TOILETRIES:
• Baby Wipes for personal hygiene
(Showers are more available in 2004 than they were in 2003, so the current need for babywipes is not nearly as huge.)
• Toothpaste, toothbrushes
• Shampoo
• Deoderant
• Soap, anti-bacterial soap
• Waterless soap, liquid body wash
• (Hand sanitizer is being removed from packages by the post office.)
• Lotion
• Shaving cream (Click here for information on shaving cream)
• Disposable razors, electric razors, battery-operated razors
• Toilet Paper
• Kleenex (Travel size packets)
(Plastic-wrapped package of ten tissues: they stay dry, make great packing material and they can use it for TP, which is in short supply in many areas!)
PERSONAL-CARE ITEMS:
• Sunblock, Aloe Vera
• Throat Lozenges
• Gum, Lifesavers, Mints
• Eye Drops (to relieve irritation from blowing sand)
• Blistex, Chapstick, Vaseline, Carmex
• Aspirin, Motrin, Tylenol, Pain Relievers
• Saline spray/drops for sensitive nasal passages
• Q-tips
• Feminine hygiene products for women Marines
• Jock itch spray
• Boot liners/insoles
• Lotrimin AF for athletes foot
(send tube of ointment or cream, NOT the spray kind)
• Foot Powder (there are some that have ingredients to fight athletes foot), travel size Baby Powder, Shower-to-Shower Powder
(NOTE: Be sure the any powder is in it's sealed, original container. Put it in a ziploc bag as well.)
• Moleskin
(for pads on sore feet, you'll find it with Dr. Scholls type things at WalMart or drug stores)
• Laundry soap
(Small single-load packages, trial sizes, or 'tablets' that are easier to manage and store.)
COMMUNICATION ITEMS:
• Envelopes, paper, pens
• Small pads of paper
• Pre-addressed labels and/or envelopes
• Notebooks (a size they can keep in a pocket and keep dry)
• Single-Use Cameras (Click here for tips on cameras.)
• Small cassette player with a message on one tape, and couple of blank tapes
(Tip: Uninstall the batteries before shipping; ship new batteries that are still packaged in the original manufacturer packaging.)
• Very small, lightly padded envelopes with correct postage attached to mail back a small cassette tape or single-use cameras
(NOTE: Free mail to the U.S. is limited to letters only; all other items require postage.)
• Postage stamps if they want to mail items larger than an envelope & letter
OTHER SUPPLIES:
• Batteries (AA, AAA, C)
• Photos from home
• Cigarettes, chew
• Newspaper clippings, comics from Sunday's paper, news from home
• Books, Magazines
(Be sure to read the Mailing Guide for what type of printed material is allowed to mailed.)
• Astronomy charts/books (the sky is unbelievably clear at night)
• Sunglasses
(goggle-type sunglasses are requested very frequently)
• Eyeglass wipes
• Socks, Socks, Socks!
• Underwear, socks, T-shirts
• Green boot socks
(try military surplus stores)
• Tactical Duct tape: military green, tan, black, gray
• Electrical tape
• Flashlight with a red lens
• 1- and 2-gallon ziplock plastic bags
(I put all items from my care pkg in a ziploc...serves two purposes!)
FUN STUFF:
• Frisbee, Nerf Footballs, Hacky Sack
• Deck of cards
• Hand-held games
FOOD ITEMS:
Pork and pork by-products are NOT allowed to be shipped to Middle East locations. That includes many 'Slim Jims' and other packaged meat products; read the label. Fruit and yeast are not allowed either. (Click here for information on fruit)
Non-perishable foods only. Send small containers of items. Large packages won't stay fresh and are harder to ship. If you can stuff it in your pocket and it's not going to spoil or MELT, it's a good thing to send! Downplay the sugar. Items that are hydrated are heavier; i.e. ravioli versus ramen noodles. Some camps have methods to heat and hydrate, others do not.
• Coffee, hot cocoa mix, coffee mixes, tea
• Lemonade mix, Koolade mix, Tang mix, Gatorade mix (pre-sweetened)
• Gum, Lifesavers, Mints
• Nuts, sunflower seeds, peanuts, trail mix
• Power bars, protein bars, nutritional bars
• Beef jerky, beef summer sausage (non-perishable; labeled USDA Beef)
• Small bags of snacks or individually wrapped snacks
• Pop Tarts, cereal bars, "milk & cereal" bars, granola bars
• Cookies, Homemade Cookies
• Candy and candy bars (chocolate will melt)
• Torengos and canned nacho cheese dip
• Jalepeno velveeta and crackers

Great idea, but I've already got a Guard unit adopted. Our local unit has convoy duty for the next 12 months or so.

I think this is a great idea. Count me in.

No matter how we feel about the war itself, we need to help these young people get through it in any way we can.

Yeah, i think that's a great idea. The concept of "Adopting" a platoon is new to me... what exactly happens once we adopt it? In addition, how would we go about doing this?

Sorry I'm late to the party, FD, but I'm in, as well. And let me emphasize one thing that's on Noonan's list but kind of gets buried: reading material. They love to get news magazines, etc., that help make them feel more connected to home.

Does anybody get Funny Times? The folks would love something like that!

I think its a good idea - count me in.

If you could get your LCpl friend to get us the contact info to the platoon First Sergeant then PM it to me I contact him, find out particulars of stuff they need or would like and where to send it to.

I'm in too!

Ok, i'll let him know how you all feel when i write him the first letter. Until then, here is some info in which i have to write on the second line when writing him (From his mother):

3/7 India Company 3rd Battalion 3rd Platoon Unit 40225

If that helps.

The info you provided reads like Greek to me, FD. But maybe someone else can translate.

Let us know how things are going.

3/7 India Company 3rd Battalion 3rd Platoon Unit 40225

3rd Platoon, I Company, 3rd Battallion, 7th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division

Thanks, Marine. Now should we wait to hear from FD about what we can do to help, or is that a legit address to send needed items, letters, etc to the regiment ?

I'm waiting for the First Sergeant, 3rd Platoon to read his mail.

7th Marines is one of the finest Regiments in the Marine Corps. Counting from WW2 until now 7th Marines has had 36 Medal of Honor recipients.

We could not have choosen a more proud, brave, and honorable group of young men and women to adopt than they are.

My bad, i didn't know... that's how his mother wrote it down on the pad of paper.

That's awesome that my friend is in it and it's awesome that we get to adopt such a fine bunch.

Oh, the address she gave you was absolutely correct to get mail to an individual.

Reading military addresses requires a translator. 3/7 means 3rd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment.

Normally there are three battalions in each regiment, ie 1/7, 2/7, & 3/7. Each battalion is usually made up of 4 companies, each company has 4 platoons, each platoon usually has 4 squads, and each squad has 4 or 5 fire teams of 4 men each.

I'm a radioman so if any grunts out there see where I screwed up any of the structure what do you expect, I'm a radioman.

Understandable.