Mainers determined to send gifts to troops

PORTLAND – Many Mainers are determined to do something to help the U.S. troops by sending care packages despite restrictions that make it more difficult than during the 1991 Gulf War.

Bethany Vance, whose brother is a Marine deployed in Kuwait, felt she needed to do something other than watch the war unfold on the news.

So she got together with her art teacher and fellow students at Cheverus High School to create a patriotic “God Bless America” banner signed by students. They plan to mail it, along with some treats, this weekend.

Despite the restrictions on packages, Mainers are seeking ways to help the troops who are risking their lives in and around Iraq.

“We’ve been receiving dozens and dozens of phone calls” from people and organizations who want to help the soldiers, said Maj. Peter Rogers, director of public affairs for the Maine Army National Guard.

“The support has just been really amazing.”

A man in Greater Portland collected boxes of Girl Scout cookies for the troops, and schoolchildren in York County made Valentine’s cards, he said.

An American Legion post in the Auburn area wanted help shipping packages of items such as toothbrushes and premoistened baby wipes, the latter used by troops to clean up in the dusty desert environment.

Getting those items shipped isn’t as easy as it used to be because of concerns of terrorist attacks.

Packages mailed to “any soldier” or to anonymous service members are not being delivered, and the Department of Defense is urging that such packages not be mailed.

In this war, for the first time, the military is discouraging everything except packages and letters sent to specific soldiers from their families and friends.

People who don’t know a specific soldier or who don’t have an address are encouraged to send messages via the Internet.

The Internet is also helping many people get around the guidelines by directing them to military family support networks or individuals who offer to send care packages to soldiers, sometimes for a fee.

Others are seeking other ways to help the troops.

A growing number of Mainers have begun to call the American Red Cross about donating blood, said Harold Crabill, director of Maine operations for Red Cross blood services.

Fifteen-year-old Bethany Vance is glad to do her part, and she said she expects many of her schoolmates to help by writing messages on her 5-by-8-foot banner.

“I think most of them will take advantage of the opportunity to say thank you, because there’s really no other way to do that,” she said.