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MarineParents.com Newsletter
a Place to Connect & Share 
In This Issue
Deployment Learning Center
Homecoming Learning Center
Please Visit Our Sponsors
Honor Gold Star Mothers
One Marine's Summary of Serving in Afghanistan
Contribute to the Care Package Project™
Homecoming T-shirts!
New book: "Warrior Culture of the US Marines"
UPDATE on Recent Tobacco Issue
DONATE with every swipe of your card
Support for You:
a Place to
Connect & Share™
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Learning Center:
Operational Security
Operational Security

NOTE: When communicating online, your Marine's privacy is as important as Operational Security. Please respect YOUR Marine's privacy!

Learning Center:
About Deployment
 
 
 
 
 
 
Learning Center:
About Homecoming
 
 
 
 
 
 
Tip: While in our store, check in your Marine's unit store for more homecoming shirts!
Unit Chat Nights
Unit Chat Night Schedule:
 
Monday: 1/7, 1/2
Tuesday: 1st LAR
Wednesday: 3/1, 3/7, 3/3
Thursday: 2/9
Friday: 3/6
Sunday: 24th MEU, 1/9
 
For additional information about the Chat Room and Unit Chat Nights for your Marine's Unit, please see:
           MarineParents.com Chat Gif 
Local Support Groups in Your Area
 
For a list of all support groups in our database or to find one in your area, see:
 
If you are interested in starting a local support group in your area, please visit the "Support Groups" section of our website:
Support Our Marines!
 
 
Purple Heart Hero Support™ an Outreach Program of Marine Parents.com
 
 
Show your support of our Marines and their families!Participate in one of the Marine Parents Outreach Programs today! Our Marines need YOU!
Visit Our Sponsors
Sign Up for the Newsletter 
Join Our Mailing List
July 28, 2010
Dear Marine Families,
 
If this is the first edition of the MarineParents.com Newsletter you have received, WELCOME! If you are a returning reader we are glad you have joined us.
 
We've got some great things in this newsletter.  We'd like you to share this message with others in your family and troop supporters you know outside the Marine Corps family.
 
The tribute to Gold Star Mother's Day and Families is a critical message to be shared with everyone you know. Help make this September 26 a day to remember our fallen heroes and their families.
 
Looking for homecoming shirts? We'll design them for you. Scroll to see our message to the families of Marines soon-to-be homeward bound!
 
We still need your help with the next Care Package Shipping day. We're a month out but a long way from our goal of shipping funds, baby wipes, and olive-drab t-shirts. Scroll below for more information.
Honor Gold Star Mothers
Light a Luminary on Gold Star Mother's Day
 
Honor Gold Star MothersDid you know there is a special day designated to honor American Gold Star Mothers?

This day of observance was officially designated in 1936 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, and it's high time we all come together to recognize our American Gold Star families on this very important day.
 
Marine Parents began an initiative last year to encourage Americans to light a luminary on Gold Star Mother's Day to honor and acknowledge the mothers of our Fallen Heroes. We'd like to expand that initiative this year, and we need your help!
 
Please visit www.goldstarmothersday.com for more information on this important day and to learn how to make your own Gold Star Mother's Day luminaries! 
One Marine's Summary of Serving in Afghanistan
Attention on Deck: From & About Our Marines
 
One Marine's Summary of Serving in AfghanistanA major in the U.S. Marine Corps, this Marine served a tour in Iraq and was later deployed to Marjah, Afghanistan. Near the end of his deployment, his father asked him to sum up his experiences in Afghanistan. Below is the major's response.
 
Although I've gotten used to things around here, this place can wear on you. Don't get me wrong, I truly believe in our mission and its importance to both the Afghan people and security back home. Still, southern Afghanistan is a hard place.

The question Marines ask themselves most when talking with folks back home is "Where do I start?" There are no easy answers.

Sand, moon dust, terrain, weather, enemy, Marines getting hurt, Marines taken out of action, high op tempo, 24/7, working with locals, working with civilians, working with Afghan government, working with Afghan police, working with Afghan army, working with international forces (ISAF), bad food, drinking tea with locals knowing you'll get sick, getting sick...  
 
Support Our Marines!
Contribute to the Care Package Project™ 
 

Donate Wipes for Marines in Afghanistan!We are only about a month away from our next Care Package Project™ pack day, and we are still in need of donations for our Marines in Afghanistan! We need YOUR help if we are going to be able to send them the items they need.

 

As a reminder, our goal is to collect 1100 olive drab skivvy shirts and 1100 packages of baby wipes by the August 28th packing day. We have received several generous donations, but in order to send one T-shirt and one package of baby wipes in each care package, we are in need of many more items to ship.

 

We are also asking for $1 donations to support our 2010 Dollar Campaign, which helps cover the cost of shipping the $1 Care Package Campaigncare packages overseas. It will cost us over $13,000 to ship the packages, and if everyone sends in just $1 we will be a lot closer to our goal.

 

In 30 days we need to raise:

 

986 more packages of baby wipes.

These wipes help our deployed men and women stay clean, and you can purchase them without shipping costs!

Click here to donate wipes! 

 

770 more olive drab t-shirts.

These T-shirts adhere to the uniform regulations our Marines are required to follow. Buying a package of three T-shirts for only $15 will allow us to provide three Marines with clean shirts to wear!

Click here to donate shirts! 

 

$5,281 in shipping costs.

Learn more about the Dollar Care Package Campaign and donate your dollar!   

We encourage you to forward this email to your family and friends. Every little bit helps, and our Marines greatly appreciate your generosity!

Get Your Homecoming T-shirts!
Where Your Purchase Supports the Troops
 
Get Your Homecoming T-shirts!As we anxiously anticipate the homecoming of our Marines, the Marine Parents EGA Store offers a few different T-shirts you can purchase in celebration of their arrival.  
 
Pictured here is our battalion T-shirt with your Marine's unit crest on the front and optional customization on the back, such as "Proud Dad/Mom" or "Welcome Home [Your Marine's Name]."
 
You can also make your homecoming T-shirt even more personalized by designing your own. Most recently, the parents of unit 3/6 designed their own, unique homecoming tee. View their design on our website. 
 
If you have an idea for a design, we'd be happy to help you put that design on a T-shirt. Just email custom@marineparents.com with the subject line "My Homecoming T-shirt Design."  
 
Warrior Culture of the US Marines
One Former Marine's Take
 
Warrior Culture of the US Marines: Purchase Your Copy Today!Warrior Culture of the U.S. Marines is the best summary of the culture of the Marine Corps I have seen in print. It's straightforward, honest, accurate and concise. It's an all inclusive overview that hits every important topic with no fluff in between.
 
The text is written in a fashion that is both captivating and entertaining. There's no boring history here; this book will grab you with each page. From the birth of the Marine Corps and the Birthday Ball to the Mameluke Sword and the Blood Stripe, Sturkey leaves no aspect of the culture lacking.
 
It's true, there is much family and friends will never understand about their Marine's culture, but this book will get you about as close as you can get without stepping onto the yellow footprints yourself.
 
 
UPDATE on Recent Tobacco Issue  
How the PACT Act Effects Military Families 
 
Sending Tobacco Overseas?The issue we ran into is the USPS requiring tobacco to be sent via Express Mail Delivery, which is not available at most APO/FPO addresses. That requirement seemed to be in contradiction to the intent of the law and actual implementation for military mail.

Our initial inquiry of the USPS guidelines and communication with legislators resulted in each side claiming the other was responsible for the guidelines, and we weren't able to get anywhere with either side.

However, after several phone calls and inquiries we have finally been able to locate the person in charge of this at the USPS in Washington, DC, and he has been asked to respond to our questions. We anticipate hearing from him soon and will follow up.

DONATE with every swipe of your card!

We hope this week's edition of our email newsletter has been useful for you and your family. If there are topics you would like us to address, or if you have other suggestions for the newsletter, please contact us.

The banner used at the top of this newsletter is a July 2010 USMC Photo by Lance Cpl. Sharon Kyle of Sgt. Maj. Carlton W. Kent, sergeant major of the Marine Corps, providing words of encouragement to Wounded Warriors from Walter Reed Medical Facility at the National Museum of the Marine Corps. Click here to read additional credits. 
 
MarineParents.com, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) public charity. MarineParents.com, Inc. was founded in January, 2003 in response to parents' needs to find information and to have a Place to Connect & Share™ with one another during deployments. Our free online services and connections have expanded to support and educate Marine moms & dads, spouses, families and friends. We've helped over 40,000 Marine and recruit families during bootcamp, training, active duty and deployments. We've shipped thousands of care packages overseas to our Marines in Iraq and Afghanistan, sent thousands of prayers and letters to injured Marines and served hundreds of meals to Wounded Warriors and their families on both the East and West coasts. You've found a Place to Connect & Share™. 
God Bless and Semper Fidelis,
 

Tracy Della Vecchia
Founder and Executive Director
MarineParents.com, Inc.
 
Neither the United States Marine Corps nor any other component of the Department of Defense has approved, endorsed, or authorized this service.