We like to share emails and letters that we receive from family and friends of Marines because it gives them a chance to have their voices and experiences heard. We recently received an uplifting email and beautiful pictures from a Marine mom whose son recently returned home from Afghanistan:

Just wanted to let you know that our son [name omitted] and his platoon have safely returned from their deployment in southern Afghanistan as part of Operation Enduring Freedom…..and are back on US soil!!!

A big thank you goes out to you and all your staff at Marine Parents for the care packages that you sent to our son and his men while his unit was deployed in southern Afghanistan. Our son reported that all of his men returned safely home. He said that care packages from Marine Parents contained the right items at the right times, and they were a real morale booster during deployment.

I thought you might be interested in seeing who your care packages went to. The first photo is of our son prior to deployment, taken July 4, 2009 at our churches Honor Our Military Celebration. This photo is not photoshopped. The flag is real, the crowd is real and the Salute is real.

I thought this photo embodied the type of men we have in the military serving our country and are sending over to Afghanistan. The Lord orchestrated the pieces together and his dad just captured the moment with a basic camera. The second photo was one of the few pictures taken during deployment, after his unit returned from a two-day patrol.

Photos coming soon!