08/20/05

Lance Cpl. Ramond D. Lewis/The Camp Pendleton Scout Volunteers Andrea Ainslie of Carlsbad and Winifred Melser of Vista packed items to send to troops.

Delivering a bit of home to the deployed
By Linda McIntosh
UNION-TRIBUNE COMMUNITY NEWS WRITER

August 20, 2005

CAMP PENDLETON – After returning from Iraq, Navy corpsman Lawrence Duran wanted to put together care packets for comrades still deployed. He remembered getting letters inside small plastic bags filled with candy, toothpaste, phone cards, foot powder and socks.

"It was a morale booster every time we got a letter or package," said Duran, who is based at Camp Pendleton.

That's why he joined Operation Interdependence volunteers on a recent Wednesday, packing bags known as Civilian Rations.

In a storefront in the Mission Marketplace, Duran and two fellow corpsmen worked with a handful of civilians, many with military ties, who knew just how much those little bags mean to troops.

The first-hand stories from the corpsmen fueled volunteers as they worked to fill their weekly quota of about 75 boxes, each containing 50 goodie bags.

"It's like Christmas every time they get a box," said Mary Ann Hillery, a military wife, who has volunteered with Operation Interdependence for a year.
"The letters are the big thing. They show that somebody cares about them."

Hillery recalled one letter from a 6-year-old girl and her family. They wrote, "... These are the things in this bag which you can see, like toothpaste, soap, lotion and shampoo. But there are many things you cannot see. My heart, my love, my respect and most importantly, my prayers for you to return home safely to your family very soon."

Hillery knew the force of those letters. She heard about it from her Marine son, who was in Iraq.

He told her they hung the letters up for everyone to see.

"I saw what it was doing and I said, 'This is what I've got to do,' " Hillery said.

The Oceanside storefront is one of the places where residents can support troops through Operation Interdependence, a civilian-to-military delivery system.

The nationwide operation was founded by retired Marine Albert Renteria in 2001.

Volunteers usually meet Tuesdays and Wednesdays at the storefront where there are typically two to eight people inspecting and packing.

Marlene Christopher comes regularly with her husband, Allison Christopher, a retired Navy captain.

"There are not a whole lot of ways to help, but this is one," she said. "When we all work together, the support gets stronger and stronger."

That's one reason Winifred Meiser joined.

"I wanted to do something,and this has a human touch. It comes from the heart and hands of the people," she said.

When volunteers come, they can see a bulletin board filled with letters of thanks from troops in Iraq.

"You can tell how much they appreciate it," said Carol Grice, a retired Navy nurse and lieutenant commander, who has volunteered with the operation for four years.

The Operation Interdependence storefront is at 455-1 College Blvd. The Mission Marketplace is at Mission Avenue and College Boulevard.

For information about volunteering or sponsoring the shipment of one or more boxes, see www.oidelivers.org or call Hillery at (760) 521-9082

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