Coming to a military base near you.
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Lost in Translation,
”
”
Pirates of the Caribbean
”
and
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Remember the Titans
”
are just some of the movies American soldiers are able to enjoy
in Fallujah, Iraq, thanks to one soldier’s caring aunt.
Coming to a military base near you.
“Lost in Translation,” “Pirates of the Caribbean” and “Remember the Titans” are just some of the movies American soldiers are able to enjoy in Fallujah, Iraq, thanks to one soldier’s caring aunt.
Pamala Meador, a Realtor with Alain Pinel, is collecting donations of DVDs to be placed in a permanent DVD library on her nephew’s Marine base in Fallujah, where about 90 percent of soldiers have portable DVD players or DVD drives in their laptops, she said.
“The whole idea is we all buy DVDs, we watch them, and we go ‘I’m never going to watch them again,’ ” Meador said.
Meador has collected four boxes with approximately 20 DVDs in each and a few other “goodies,” such as Oreos, energy bars, hand sanitizer and Gold Bond powder.
“I try to look for things that are the right sizes,” she said. “I want to break the boxes up because the mail trucks are being hit. It’s one thing to send them; it’s another thing to get them there.”
So far, three of the boxes have safely arrived.
“I got your box yesterday, thank you!,” Blake Richardson wrote his aunt in an e-mail. “I know the guys out here will be very grateful.”
Back in Iraq, Richardson printed a list of all the movies and posted it in a place where all of the soldiers can see it. They can choose one movie at a time. When they return the DVD, they can check out another one from the gunny sergeant.
“This way we will have the movies, guaranteed, for the next guys who come here when we leave,” Richardson wrote.
People can donate new or used DVDs and cash for Meador to purchase DVDs. If the movie is used, Meador urges people to write a personal note inside. Shipping is provided through the Red Cross’s “Operation: Care and Comfort.”
Donation barrels are located at Alain Pinel Realtors, 501 Vineyard Town Center, and Chicago Title, 18525 Sutter Blvd., both in Morgan Hill.
The DVD library appears to be the first of its kind in Iraq, Meador said. Although soldiers can purchase DVDs on or near the base, Meador said she’d rather see them use the DVD library.
“I don’t think our guys in Iraq should have to pay for things, and I don’t want them being shot in the back when they walk away,” Meador said. “It shows that we care and that we’re involved.”
Other individuals in the South Valley also are stepping up to fill the unique needs of soldiers in Iraq.
Kevin Corcoran, owner of the Gilroy Guitar Gallery, received an e-mail from Jeremy Clark, a Marine in Iraq who said he and a six other guys are looking for a fun way to pass time between operations. Clark found out about Corcoran’s store on the Internet.
In the e-mail, Clark said he was “itching to play” guitar.
“I know if I was away from a guitar for a year, I’d be ‘itching’ myself,” Corcoran said, laughing.
Clark was in luck. Corcoran had just purchased a used steel-string Yamaha guitar in excellent condition for $100, which he gladly donated, plus extra strings, a tuner and some picks. He scribbled a note on the side of the box and shipped it two weeks ago. It should be arriving in Iraq any day.
“It seemed like the least I could do,” he said. “It will go to really good use with these guys.”
Meanwhile, Morgan Hill resident Mary Ellen Salzano, whose son Ethan is in Iraq, is collecting gray, white or black sports bras and other toiletry items for 100 female Marines who need to be “adopted.”
“Their gear can weigh 50 to 60 to 80 pounds,” Salzano said. “Having an underwire bra is really uncomfortable.”
Salzano also is looking for people to sew ‘cool ties,’ which are like neck ties that can be soaked in water and worn around a soldier’s neck to lower their body temperature in the 100-plus degree heat.
Devin Collins, of Gilroy, is in the midst of starting a collection drive. The 13-year-old Boy Scout says people should look for donation barrels around town soon or find his booth at the Memorial Day Parade, starting at 11 a.m. Monday along Tenth Street. People can donate a variety of items, from personal hygiene products to magazines and DVDs.
“I’m doing it to earn my Eagle badge, but I also want to help the soldiers in Iraq,” Collins said.
The Eagle Scout badge is one of scouting’s highest honors, he said.
“It’s really hard to earn,” he said. “So I’m on it. I have to get a lot of different merit badges, but this is my main big project.”
To contact Collins, e-mail ea********@*****il.com.
To adopt a woman Marine or to sew cool ties, call Salzano at 779-6916.
The hotline number for the DVD drive is 776-3294. Donations are tax deductible through Operation: Care and Comfort.
To learn more about Operation: Care and Comfort, call Randy Bye at 577-2192.
