Barefoot for the Troops

Iraq War veteran Troy Yocum is hiking 7,000 miles across America, banging his drum and sounding the call for $5 million to help military families in need. Troy will host a Barefoot Hike for Heroes one-mile group walk to set a new Guinness World Record in Phoenix, AZ on Dec. 4th (registration will start at 8 am with the walk at 10 am. Preregistration is encouraged).

Read more here. 


If you are going to be in the Phoenix area, please consider attending!

Care Packs

Our pre-Christmas packing party was significantly smaller this year than in years past, but we know that the soldiers and Marines who receive the packages will be very grateful. I want to give a special thank you to the New Covenant Sunday school class from St. Luke's UMC who helps us year after year. We appreciate their faithful support.

Happy 235th Birthday Marines!

Get Ready for Christmas!

If you're like me and like to buy a new military Christmas ornament every year, you will love these. They also have stockings, candles and Christmas cards.

Veterans’ Reflections: Going to War in 1944

Unlike many of his fellow recruits at Camp Lejeune, N.C., in 1944, the 24-year-old Kushwara had volunteered to don the uniform and go to war. It was a choice, technically, but he didn’t consider it much of one. Though he had a perfectly good job at the time, he said, he knew his country needed him.

Continue reading here:

Smart Phone App Helps Track Post-Deployment Emotional Health

The National Center for Telehealth and Technology will release a smart phone application that will help service members track their emotional health after they've been deployed, according to a statement by the Department of Defense.


Click here to read about it.

Supporting Your Service Member with Psychological Health Concerns

American Soldiers

What can you do to support your service member?

Traumatic experiences — such as receiving incoming fire or knowing someone seriously injured or killed — are common among service members deployed to hostile environments. These experiences can impact the lives of service members and their families upon their return. If your family member had similar experiences while deployed, he or she is not alone.

Read here to find out what you can do to help.

Treats for Troops

WWII Posters

The members of Lubbock Marine Parents are getting ready to kick off our big care pack drive called Treats for Troops. We are inviting the public to help us collect care pack items to be sent to our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan during the month of October. We plan to have the packages in the hands of our troops for Veteran's Day. We are a small volunteer organization and we can't support our combat deployed troops without you!

If you know of a business, church or school that would like to be a drop off location for donated items, or if you are interested in collecting care pack items we would very much appreciate your help! Please leave a comment here or email semperfimomx2 @ yahoo.com for more information.

The items on our current "most wanted" list are:
beef jerky
peanuts
sunflower seeds
power bars
pop tarts
tuna lunch kits
snack crackers
pudding cups
small "pull-top" canned fruit
fruit snacks
hard candy
chunky soup or ravioli with pull top lid
chewing gum
Cookies (sorry, but we can't accept homemade cookies)
individually packaged Tylenol/Advil
razors
black socks
Chapstick
small bottles of sunscreen
money for shipping
cards and letters of support

Let's show them how much Lubbock cares!

September Meeting

Marine Corps War Memorial, Washington DC

If you are interested in supporting local troops and their families please join us for our September meeting on Saturday September 4th at 3:00pm. We will be meeting at Daybreak Coffee Roasters located at 4406 19th street.

We'll be discussing the next care package mail out.

Free Museum Admission for Military Families

For more information click here.

Memorial Day

"Let us make a vow to our dead. Let us show them by our actions that we understand what they died for. Strengthened by their courage, heartened by their valor, and borne by their memory, let us continue to stand for the ideals for which they lived and died." --Ronald Reagan at Pointe du Hoc, 1984

Littlefield Junior High and High School Donate Parcels

Special thanks goes to Michelle Johnson and her students at the Littlefield Junior High and Littlefield High School for their generous donation of care packages and letters to the troops of West Texas. In early December, I was contacted by Michelle, the Youth Services Coordinator, regarding their donations, and she explained that the student councils of Littlefield were having a little competition to see who could arrange for the most donations. The turnout was awesome, as they made the largest donation to Lubbock Marine Parents of any school. The care packs filled the bed of my F-150 and then some.



I could tell that the students took great pride in their efforts, their letters were very warm and neat. The care packages were all carefully labeled.



I visited with them a little bit about what we did at Lubbock Marine Parents and how I was just like them, a concerned citizen who wants to help out in supplying our troops with needed supplies and little comforts from home. To the students of Littlefield, thank you so much for your support!



These supplies were re-packaged with other donated supplies at the Lubbock Marine Parents annual packing party that was held on January 24, rather during Christmas. These supplies will go to troops who are stationed in Iraq and Afghanistan. Shipment of the supplies and letters of support will be made during the week of Feb. 8.

The students of Littlefield's Junior high and High Schools, stepped up and donated much of their time and efforts to produce care packages for the troops. On behalf of the moms and dads of Lubbock Marine Parents, we thank you from the bottom of our hearts! The troops will enjoy every bit of your hard work.

(In the top photo, Left (in uniform, Devane Amalla, a US Army combat medic who was recently deployed to Iraq; and the students of the Littlefield Junior High and high Schools who stayed after school in order to help load up the supplies.) Below: Letters from the students to the troops and the LMP Packing party in January.