Home for the Holidays

One hundred forty-eight combat wounded marines and soldiers received checks last week at Camp Lejeune and Fort Bragg to cover transportation costs to their homes for the holidays. 

These active duty patriots are recovering from combat wounds received while serving in Iraq or Afghanistan.  The checks came from donations made by citizens to the Military Order of the Purple Heart. MOPH is a service organization whose membership consists mostly of combat wounded veterans from WWII forward.  A women's auxiliary is also part of the organization.

Check amounts ranged from $300 to $1,559 to each of 61 marines and 87 soldiers.  The amount was dependent upon the distance to their homes.  The total amount hasn't been tallied, but will exceed $50,000.  Our local Chapter 638 contributed over $1,200 which represented money raised from donations by members and non-member citizens in the five county area.

The picture above shows Patriot Jim Casti dispersing checks.  Jim is the program organizer for the Wounded Warrior Christmas Leave Project in North Carolina. 

State Commander Patriot Jesse Torres is in the next photo.  Both Jesse and Jim were wounded in Vietnam combat and understand the experiences of today's wounded warriors.

I thank the readers of my blog who contributed to Chapter 638 which helped this cause.  

Read the letter below which further explains the program.

Click on the letter to enlarge it.  Their address is under the name if you wish to contribute.

Have a Merry Christmas!