Penny Sanford Designs

A Mississippi Hero with two and four legs

Today near Jackson, a K-9 Marine met folks and shared as best as he could what happened to his handler, Marine Cpl Dustin Jerome Lee on a fateful day in March in 2007, in Falujah, Iraq. Dustin was killed during the attack, and his faithful companion, Lex, was also injured.

Lex still has shrapnel in his back and rear that makes walking difficult and painful.

Here are Jerome and Rachael Lee, the parents of the Mississippi Marine killed in that Falujah attack.

The family is from the Meridian or Quitman area.
Lex was retired two years early because of his injuries, and the Lee family was able to adopt him.

Here is the website for Dustin Lee. We've been fapped tonight, so our Internet service is slower than a snail on Xanax. I've not been able to download the site past the brown wallpaper, so I can't yet read the story of this Mississippi Marine who died for his country.

Carol Davis, the Mississippi Community Team Leader for Soldiers Angels shared these pictures today from the meet-and-share-war-stories event among the rocking chairs on the front porch of the Cracker Barrel in Pearl, MS.

According to Davis, this is a popular national program, Operation Outreach.  Wounded warriors from Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., come in a van to scheduled events around the country to sit on the front porch and visit with local wounded warriors from the two Gulf Wars and warriors from previous wars "and tell war stories like back in the old days," Davis said.

The U-Haul company and Cracker Barrel Old Country Stores teamed up for the funding and logistics of this Wounded Warrior Project: Operation Outreach.  You can click on a region of the country to see when some wounded warriors will be coming to visit and share in your neck of the woods.

Gordon and I wanted to attend this event in Pearl today, but responsibilities kept us here on the farm.

I'm so appreciative to Carol Davis for sharing the photos by email and links to read about the Lee family.

Surely someone with connections to Mississippi State University School of Veterinary Medicine in Starkville, MS, can get Lex in for some free surgery to remove that shrapnel that is causing him pain with every step he takes!

I would have cried had I been there in person today. I cried just writing this post tonight, trying to empathize with the loss in this Mississippi family. I cannot imagine the pain in the Lee family, but I'm sure Lex is a gift from God to help them handle the loss of their son. You go, Lex!

You may remember that Gordon and I adopted a soldier through Soldiers Angels a few months back. There are many ways to show support for our troops, but we chose the adoption route where we send a letter each week and a care package every month. So far, we've sent six letters and three care packages (one every two weeks).

It takes about two weeks for a letter or package to reach our soldier, so we want him to have a piece of mail or a box every week. At least I think I have the delivery schedule worked out.

I'm always looking for recipes that will ship into 120 degree Fahrenheit weather and last for 2 weeks in transit without spoiling. DAR friend Homie Holly has sent an apple cake to her brother  under similar circumstances. I'm waiting for her recipe and packaging instructions.

I'll be sharing these recipes with you.

 

Yippee! We heard from our Adopted Soldier!

This was a treat for the day after July 4th!

We received a letter from the soldier we "adopted" through Soldiers Angels!

Unc brought the letter back from the Post Office Saturday morning, and he and Mama were just as excited as Gordon and I to hear from "our soldier".

Four letters and two care packages into our committment, I had almost decided that we had adopted one who did not like to write!

In my last letter, I even playfully encouraged him to write or we would put horse laxative in some future brownies, or we would start to send him girlie things, or we would put itching powder in something. HA!

Turns out, our adopted soldier is quite good at expressing himself. He is entertaining and has a good sense of humor. He writes a great letter.

We really don't expect him to write often.  We just need some feedback about what is in the care packages and what he likes, etc.

He mentioned receiving the second package and loving the home made cookies.

Now I am wondering if he received the first package that also contained home-made cookies.

It is not like I am going to jump on a mail truck and investigate the path these packages take to reach the soldiers. You know, one just likes to know that the package arrived.

My business persona may be leaking over into this non-business activity like sending stuff to brighten the day of this soldier. I've had to laugh at myself for putting notes in the packages about what was in the letters and for listing in the letters what was shipped in the packages....just like I would do with an order for porcelain. Gracious me! No need for so much efficiency!

This adopted soldier thing feels good and right. Unc even teared up a little while remembering how he felt when he received a letter from home when he was in Japan.

I'll have to look for some of Unc's WWII V-mail and some of the mail from Uncle D's stint in Korea. Now I'm glad we saved it. It brings those wars to life...makes them real, ya know?