Monday, December 20, 2010

How do the soldiers feel about the holidays?

By Joshua Isabelle
December 16, 2010

I found myself wondering how the soldiers were feeling about the holiday season. There are several websites containing premade Christmas cards and all you have to do is insert your name, city and state and some lucky person will receive you letter wishing them happy holidays. One website is letssaythanks.com

I can’t imagine this is very meaningful to them as seeing as how they have no idea who you are. I would say they probably want to see their family or friends. I’m sure if you would like to make the soldiers happy, maybe we should send prepaid phones so that they can text and call their loved ones during these times.

There is another program I suggest and believe does the most for the troops called givetothetroops.org. They send boxes full of things the troops can enjoy such as, golf clubs, baseball bats, guitars, Bowflex machines, TV sets and temperpidic mattress sets. The average box weighs an average of 70 ponds and is packaged specifically according to whom it’s going to. This way the troops will have something to do while they are still on active duty.

In 2009 the rate of soldiers on non-active duty who have committed suicide was counted in at forty-eight. This year in 2010, in just the first ten months the count went up to eighty-six. We should be doing anything in our power to be preventing this from happening to the men and women who are protecting our country. One opinion for the deaths was said that the suicide victims were most likely to also be victims of post-traumatic stress. Another major reason for the deaths was thought to be because of the recession. Many of the men on active duty cant pay for their home, cars or other bills so they go home to repossessed belongings and cant survive.

Tests show that any and all donations made make an overwhelming difference to the attitudes and livelihood to the troops.

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