Herald initiates ‘Letters Home' campaign
There’s nothing like being away from home during the holidays.
It’s especially difficult when a loved one is serving his or her country far away from home by fighting in ongoing wars or having to be stationed abroad.
With the holiday season here, we remember those not joining their families around the dining room table this year.
The Brownsville Herald is asking Rio Grande Valley servicemen and women to send holiday messages and photos to the folks at home by initiating its “Letters Home” campaign.
The Herald’s “Letters Home” campaign brings messages of love, hope and joy.
Brownsville and the rest of the Valley have hundreds of men and women currently in harms way around the world. This month, more than 500 Texas National Guard members of the 3rd Battalion, 141st Infantry deployed to Iraq for one year. For some, it is their second deployment to the Middle East during the holidays.
In October, the U.S. Army Reserve’s 812 Quartermaster Company out of Harlingen, also deployed to the Middle East. They are stationed in Baghdad, wrote Cpl. Hiran E. Cruz, of Brownsville, a member of the Army Reserve Unit.
This will be another Christmas that Cruz spends away from home. In 2005, he also spent Christmas in the Middle East.
Members of the Armed Forces can send messages, photos and video by e-mail to Herald reporter Laura B. Martinez at lmartinez@brownsvilleherald.com
The subject line should read "LETTERS HOME." Submissions will be accepted today through Dec. 22. Please include full name, rank, branch of service, age, hometown and where you are stationed.
These letters from our troops will be published online Christmas Day. Video greetings will be posted online as well.
It’s a small gesture, and doesn’t measure up to the sacrifices made by our troops and their families, but one that we hope unites us all.
