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* A Request from Sergeant Dan *
Wow! We greatly appreciate the care packages your
52Best people are sending out to us. To be quite honest, I never
expected much of a response. This all started with a simple "Thank You"
to you for my annual birthday message.
It is nice to know that there are people like you who can make the
distinction between supporting a war and supporting the troops. I only
wish my predecessors in the military had been so lucky.
I would like to make a request. If you know a veteran or maybe see one
on the way to work, maybe you could do something nice for them, too.
These days, people in the military get much more support, but this was
not so in the past. The memories these noble people have to live with
usually haunt them terribly, and it might mean a lot to them for someone
to notice them.
Before I joined the military, I used to take the same route to work
every day and there was this guy who used to sit in the shade of an
overpass. He was there every day, rain or shine. I am ashamed to say
that, at the time. I just wrote him off as yet another homeless person
on the streets.
I did, that is, until one day, when I drove by, I noticed him wearing an
old green Army top with a lot of ribbons on it. It occurred to me that
this man was a veteran. To this day, I still don't know exactly why I
did it, but I stopped at a nearby fast food place and picked up two
meals. I drove back to where he was and sat down next to him. He looked
at me a little strangely, so I said ,
"You hungry?" And he replied to me,
"I could eat."
So I gave him one of the meals. We didn't say a word while we sat there
and ate together. When we were finished, he looked at me and held out
his hand for me to shake. I took it and he said ,
"Thanks."
I had no idea what happened to this guy. I never saw him in the same
spot again. It wasn't until I went to the same fast food place about a
month later that I saw him again. He was working there.
We recognized each other right away, but didn't say anything to each
other. He took my order, gave me my food and reached across the counter
to shake my hand again. Once again he said ,
"Thanks," smiled, and went back to work.
It had never occurred to me before that something as simple as a meal
could mean so much to someone. Those were the only two words he ever
said to me, but it was sincere and conveyed a world of emotion.
I now know there was a reason for why I stopped and shared a meal with a
man that I didn't know. I spent $5.00 on the meal and twenty minutes of
my time eating with him, but I gained so much more in return. To give so
little and be able to change someone's life is a profound thing.
I wanted to share this story with you because it was a defining moment
in my life. Someone was definitely guiding me that day. This man needed
to know that someone cared about what happened to him.
I wish I had been able to get to know this man or at least learn his
name, but that didn't seem to be what he wanted. He just needed that
little nudge. Maybe someone near you is waiting for that little nudge.
You will never know unless you try.
~ This email was written to me three days ago by
Sergeant Dan Coursen. He adds, "Once again, thank you for all your
support. I look forward to receiving your packages and sharing them with
my buddies. God Bless. ~
1. Care
Packages - Introduction -
Click Here
2. Care
Package Information - What Goes
in and How to Mail -
Click Here
3. Wall of
Fame - Readers
Who Have Sent Care Packages -
Click Here
4.
A Sergeant In Iraq to 52Best -
His First Letter -
Click Here
Sergeant Dan's Mailing Address:
Sergeant Dan Coursen
Unit 43210
1st Cavalry Division Band
APO AE 09344
Any
original artwork, text,
or
layout are Copyright ©
2006
by 52Best,
Inc.
The name 52Best, the 52Best logo,
and the name “Angel Star” are marks of 52Best,
Inc.
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