Flight Pundit

I’m weeding through one of many emails I get about the Marines. Here’s another article about how those who really have determination are quite successful at getting what they want.

NORTH PORT — Heidi Lotthammer doesn’t want any of the credit.

The North Port woman worked recently to gather nearly $27,000 in donations from Wal-Mart for her son’s Marine unit currently serving in Iraq.

“I don’t want the glory,” Lotthammer said. “I give praise to God for Wal-Mart.”

She began her quest for donations several months ago. She was inspired by her son, Mark, a Marine corporal who graduated from Port Charlotte High School in 1996.

Mark is serving his second tour in Iraq with Lima Co., 3rd Battalion, 2nd Regiment, 2nd Marine Division out of Camp Lejeune, N.C. His unit is currently stationed at Camp Habbaniyah in the Al Anbar Province, about an hour west of Baghdad. It’s known as the Triangle of Death.

Don’t ever say Wal Mart doesn’t do good things.

Heidi went to all her family and friends for donations, as well as to Publix and Wal-Mart. Initially, the two companies each gave her a $50 gift card. She kept asking, but about six weeks passed and she heard nothing.

[…]
“Then the mom from Philadelphia called me while I was out shopping, and left a message saying Wal-Mart was trying to get in touch with me, but they only had my first name,” said Heidi.

She spoke with a Wal-Mart representative who said he understood she was looking for a large donation for the 3/2 Marines.

“He listened very carefully and didn’t interrupt once,” she said. “He told me, ‘I can really see you are a caring woman who wants to help.’ And he started to say ‘How about 14 or 15?’ I thought he was going to say $1,400 or $1,500, because I just wanted to buy some folding camp chairs for the boys so they wouldn’t have to sit on the ground — and then he said $14,000 to $15,000, and I just started crying.”

I would have cried too.

Although Heidi wasn’t able to go, more than 150 Marine moms got together in Philadelphia and packed boxes upon boxes with “stockings, Dr. Scholl’s items, hand-held video games” and baked goods for the 1,130 Marines in the unit.

They also sent numerous Christmas trees and ornaments, enough so every one of the unit’s outposts would have a tree to decorate.

Heidi is a great woman and we should thank her for all she has done with this. To care enough about ALL the Marines- not just her own son- in this unit- is typical of Marine Moms. They are also among the few and the proud.

Again: Semper Fi

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Last week I posted about the fund raising going on down in Camp Lejeune and Cherry Point- for the Wounded Warriors Barracks…they are reporting how great the response has been.

A Craven County fund-raising drive for Wounded Warrior holiday travel raised unexpected amounts, holiday spirit and maybe a roof for a disabled soldier.

“I have seen the best of America in the last week,” said Steve Tyson, the Craven County commissioner who helped the Military Order of Purple Heart campaign last week after hearing an appeal from state coordinator Jim Casti of Newport.

“I saw Americans with that ‘What can I do to help. Let’s get it done’ attitude,” Tyson said. “It’s been really quite phenomenal. People around here love their Marines.”

[…]
A hat was passed specifically to help Army Sgt. Eric Edmundson, for whom Homes for Our Troops broke ground for a home in Fairfield Harbor last week.

Tyson said he has commitments from area businesses to continue raising money for the Edmundson home.

Mailed donations and funds raised through the reception totaled $40,707, which will go toward getting 57 Cherry Point and Camp Lejeune wounded veterans home for Christmas.

Tyson said a lot of the donors were local, but checks came from places such as Oklahoma, New York and Boston.

Heh…from Boston?? They got several checks from New Hampshire as well!! Americans love their Marines, and when we know help is needed, we will do whatever we can to assist. This effort started out locally but it was posted on a couple blogs which I know helped bring in national attention. I wrote to Mr. Tyson and Mr. Casti telling them to send email alerts to people who could help them spread the word here.

Speaking of Maxwell Barracks, another little article about how giving people can be when they know of needs:

Only days after returning from deployment, members of BLT 1/8 met at Spanky’s Sports Bar and Grill. But the biggest presence in the room was the memory of Cpl. Gary Koehler, who was killed by a roadside bomb in Haditha on Nov. 1. He was 21 years old and left behind a wife, Hillary.

The members of Battalion Landing Team 1st Battalion, 8th Marines, came to Spanky’s on Dec. 7 to witness the dedication of an electric wheelchair, donated in Koehler’s memory to the Wounded Warriors barracks on Camp Lejeune. The wheelchair has Koehler’s name and date of death embroidered on the back of the headrest.

“This means as long as a wounded warrior needs and uses this chair, then Cpl. Koehler will always be with us, and supporting his brothers,” said J.C. Hardee, a retired Marine colonel.

He and retired Marines Mark Schallow and Spanky Feest have been behind several fund-raisers to benefit the Wounded Warriors program; other gifts include a poker table.

But this state-of-the-art wheelchair, dressed with camouflage rims, is a personal tribute, too.

[…]
Marines and sailors from the Wounded Warriors barracks, which now houses more than 60 on Lejeune, were grateful for the gesture.

“This shows how much the American public cares,” said Lt. Col. Tim Maxwell, OIC of the barracks. “We’re America’s team right now.”

And that team takes care of their own.

I’ve been to Maxwell Barracks, met Tim Maxwell and over 45 of the Marines who reside here. They’re all heroes. They got their wounds fighting in Iraq- and they deserve a lot of respect. And support. A similar barracks will be opening on the West Coast soon at Camp Pendleton-based on the successful model of this project. I wish them all nothing but the best with these efforts.

Semper Fi

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