hey folks --

i know there are already a lot of boxes going off to the troops and all. this one's a bit different, though. today starts the From The Heart collection.

i heard from the wife of one of our BOTL's here on cbid (FirstSgtSmoke) that he is over in one of the biggest hell holes in the sandbox with his young marines. if you look at the news, you know that this is not a fun place to be.

i'm going to start sending stuff over there in his care, both for him and for the "young marines" he's in charge of there.

what i'm asking you to do is to not just send cigars -- if you can, that's great, and i know he'll appreciate them and share them around -- but to give something else as well.

PLEASE take a moment and write or type out a letter from "home" to send over there to these guys. write out one or two or however many you want -- but please write out a little something to these guys to ENCOURAGE them and let them know that REAL people over here give a damn about the REAL people over there who are giving their ALL in this and putting their very REAL lives on the line.

i want to collect the following to put in a package over there, and i'd like to keep this up until they come home, sending out a box to the 1st Sarge as often as one is filled and ready to go.

- cigars

- letters and postcards

- jokes and cartoons

- stuff from the heart: photos, kids' drawings, anything that will go to nourish these guys' spirit, heart and morale.

- also, any letters of encouragement for the families/spouses/gf's, etc. of these marines would be great. i can get those over to the support folks at camp lejeune to distribute to their families who are probably pretty freaked seeing all the fighting going on over there and knowing that that's where their marine is.

seriously, whatever you can THINK of that will support, encourage, cheer up, etc. guys on the young side (and their first sarge) who are overseas in a hell hole war zone.

be creative. send cigars, yes, but even if you can't or you're tapped out or whatever, PLEASE send something "from the heart" -- whether it's a thing or just a message.

i'm getting a few friends and their kids together to write some notes and brainstorm this further, and i'll be sending out the first box on the 23rd. after that, i'd like to shoot for sending stuff over every couple of weeks at a time -- and keep it up until they come home.

email me at BBELTRISI at ec.rr.com for more info, questions, etc. (and to get my mailing addy). if someone wants to help me out with this, also drop me a line.

Do you have a list of specific things they need?

I'll send you an email later today.

socks cookies, p-nuts things like that are big I have heard!

thanks, rd -- i should have a list by later today of general things, and as soon as i hear back from mrs FirstSgtSmoke i'll get that info on here too.

any of you folks who have been to the sandbox, if you know of things that you would have liked to have had -- especially in terms of feeling appreciated and cared for from home -- please post it here or let me know.

you know, these are not a bunch of grizzled combat-hardened vets. these are guys the age of the young men who stormed the beaches at normandy. let's not wait for spielberg to make a movie about them to say thanks and let them know we appreciate them. let's do it right now when they really need that word from home.

baby wipes!!!!

thats the biggest thing going there (will not explain how or why i know at this time). They are like gold! Cigars - #2 🙂 sometimes they go weeks without showers so the wipes are a way to take a shower on the go. Trust me , go to sams club and add a crate of those and you cant go wrong. imho...

I would gladly send you some gars or stuff get a lst going or addy me at smitty0128atYAHOOdotCOM

thanks schmitty! i'll send an email out here shortly.

hey, just heard from usahog. he sent a list of things needed and said, "Tell all on Cbid I said Hello!!!!!"

whatever you send, please please please add a LETTER to go over also. some folks might not know what to say in one, so some suggestions are to write and tell them that:

- they ARE in our thoughts and/or prayers

- they are NOT forgotten about

- they are appreciated

- they are overwhelmingly supported

send along a cartoon or some jokes or a humorous forward thingie from email or the net -- anything along those lines

okay -- and here's hog's list of stuff they need:

===========================================================================================

- Shaving Cream/Razors

- Eye drops the more the better (crucial Item to have)

- Lip balm

- Baby wipes

- Beef jerky or jerky of any kind (nice to have to

tide one over while busy) NOTE: would any snack w/

protein be good? someone mentioned peanuts, too

- Bandana's (they help while wearing the helmet..

keeps the rings from cutting into the head and catch

the sweat...

- Prayers.... one can never have enough of them to go

around when facing what these men/women are facing...

- and of course Cigars...

===========================================================================================

thanks so much guys! please pass this on to anyone else you know who would be interested in sending things -- and especially letters, cards, postcards, notes -- anything PERSONAL like that "from the heart" as well as cigars and the supplies mentioned.

i'll get a web page up so it's easier to access.

Tony,

Do you need any help with the costs of shipping this huge package to the troops? I will be sending a package to you soon. Let me know if I need to send money for shipping also.

gadog95

kevin -- thanks, bro. very cool of you. but it's all good; i'll have the $ to send it okay. if i just send over 1-2 per month, i've got it covered for sure, but thanks for making the offer, my friend.

right now it's not big. in fact, it's just a handful of envelopes and letters, a couple bottles of visine, 3 bandanas and 2 baggies of cigars. *chuckle* we'll just see how it goes, though.

Cav,

Full MOnitor sized box (getting bigger everyday) packed and shipping out monday from here. I will ship direct per our emails and have included a letter basically saying "From your BOTL's on Cbid" etc. I included a comment that other shipments will go out at later dates.

Friends , family and co workers here went out of the way to fill this box and did a great job.

We have the following going as of right now: #'s are approx and changing everyday 🙂

-------------------

20- Cigars (about 20)

6 - Visine

6 - bandanas

4 - Sporting news issues

4 - containers of hand cream

1 - package of Pens

4 - pairs of sunglasses

14 - lip balms

32 - disposable razors (4 packs or 😎

3 - large packages of Jerky

2 - letters (from my kids)

1 - letter (from CBID BOTL)

2 - Newspapers (local current events from here)

Expecting a few more adds to this by monday but right now thats what is going.

Thanks for starting this Cav! I am sure 1stSgtSmoke and his men will be thankful for a "touch of home" coming there.

email sent earlier tonight

+++++ UPDATE: OPERATION FROM THE HEART (OpFTH) +++++

FROM CBID BOTLs TO MARINES IN FALLUJAH

this is kicking off nicely, guys!

rd: got it, and i'll be on email duty as soon as i make this post. 🙂

+++++ WHAT'S UP +++++

- i've got a stack of letters and cards and such ready to go along with cigars and 5 cheapie cutters, magazines (field and stream, men's journal), bandanas and some odds and ends.

- schmitty's got his MOAB that he'll be sending over. NICE job with that! i can't thank you enough, bro. way to get others in your life involved, too -- that can make so much happen so quickly.

- CIGAR stuff: keep in mind that a lot of these guys probably don't have a cigar cutter of any kind. they're marines, though -- they'll IMPROVISE! ADAPT! OVERCOME! 🙂 but if you have a spare cheapie cutter, punch, etc. consider tossing that in as well.

- CONTACT ME if you want to contribute to OpFTH: BBELTRISI at ec.rr.com -- if you can send things here to go over on 1 may, excellent! if you have a bunch of stuff and want to send it on your own, excellent! just get in touch with me for the address(es) and the how-to's on this.

- special thanks to schmitty and gadog for promising to keep this on the go if my health should prevent me from doing so. you guys are aces. thank you.

+++++ QUESTIONS +++++

- does anyone know if mags like STUFF and FHM are okay to send over? it ain't playboy, but both are still a bit iffy. is there a list of what's okay/not okay anywhere online?

- any suggestions for other items that would be helpful, besides those that have been mentioned?

- anyone know if it's okay to send over lighters or matches? i know in regular domestic mail, lighters are okay provided they are empty of fuel. any info on this is appreciated.

+++++ RECRUIT! GET OTHERS INVOLVED! +++++

my wife's a teacher, and she's asked her students to write letters. schmitty got his family involved similarly (and then some!).

sit your family down one evening and just write a couple letters each to send over. ask your COLLEAGUES and COWORKERS and FRIENDS to do the same.

we STILL need all kinds of things for this -- from "fun" stuff to cigars to hygiene supplies to LETTERS, CARDS, NOTES, etc.

+++++ WHY WE'RE DOING THIS +++++

mrs. 1stSgtSmoke says that these boys are "desperate for some love from home." that's what this is all about -- something "from the heart" to make that one-to-one connection with these guys. we want to let them know that our cbid bro is NOT forgotten, and that the young marines with him have REAL PEOPLE over here who are thinking of them and want them to come home safely.

these guys aren't sitting at desks over there. they're in the thick of the fighting in probably the biggest hellhole over there right now.

i cannot stress how important it is to know that there's a real human being back stateside who wants you to make it and come back safe and sound.

THANKS BIGTIME to those who've kicked in for this or written for info on how to send their own package. please don't hesitate to write and ask questions, get more info, etc.

for a quick overview of Operation FTH, to set up a web page: www.geocities.com/tbeltrisi

it'll be updated as necessary, and any suggestions are welcome.

one additional thing -- people can just EMAIL their comments to the guys in fallujah, and i'll be glad to format it into a letter, put it in an envelope, etc. to send over.

nice job on the site and thanks for the props!

schmitty, bro, check your email. the site's just the "first draft" so to speak. you're running this show as much as i am, so i need to get your permission for adding your contact info to the site. can't thank you enough for all you've done here -- and continue to do.

this is happening, folks! first boxes are going out very soon, and a couple have already gone out directly as well. 🙂 the box i have is going on 1 may and will go out on the first of the month hereafter until they come back home.

email replied. Thanks again and MY box leaves monday for them. I will post the contents when completed tomorrow. you will be amazed.

got it, bill! thanks again, and i'll update the web site now.

from here on out to save confusion, let's post on the OpFTH thread in Trades> hey? 🙂

but FYI, here's the scoop:

i'll be sending out a box on the FIRST of every month.

bill (schmitty) will send out a box on the 15th of every month.

donations are welcome -- send 'em either to me or to schmitty, or get in touch with either of us if you have a bigger package of your own that you want to just send overseas directly.

to get addresses or info:

Cavallo: bbeltrisi at hotmail.com or BBELTRISI at ec.rr.com

Schmitty22: [email protected]

again, info and changes will be posted on the Trades thread.

THANK YOU!!!

Hello I'm serving on a ship that has taken some of these Marines (Men and Women) over. Our mission was complete But mine is still far from over. Being a 8th generation military member of my family I feel it is a duty, and a Privilege to help with this. Please let me know where to send some stuff and my family and I will get going and even get the local VFW going.

Very Respectfully

GM1 Edward Butcher (GUNNERLHD-3)

USS Kearsarge (LHD-3)

god bless you buddy!

you can send to me or cav to be added to the monthly shipments or email me at smitty0128forums-cigars at yahoo.com and I can give you the direct mailing to them if you box is big enough 🙂

looking forward to talking with you