Happy New Year!

Finally - got a call from Michael! He sounded good and said the packages are still arriving. They got all kinds of goodies for Christmas. Thank you to all. His next wish is for flags. We already had a donation of flags and will send them out this week. He said he would like to fly the flags in Afghanistan and then he will give each of his troops a flag to take home with them in remembrance of their time in Afghanistan. He said his platoon is a 'support' unit and they support several battallions so they move around a lot. He said this was good because they keep really busy and the time there is going by quickly. Before you know it he will be back in Vero! Hope everyone has a happy, healthy, prosperous 2010 ;-)

Somerset House at Oak Harbor Sends 23 Care Packages!

Another great day at Somerset House in Vero Beach! What a wonderful turn out from the residents and staff at Somerset House. We send our heartfelt thanks to everyone that baked cookies, brought in donations and helped pack the care packages. 2D Mike was there and appreciates everything you are doing. ;-) Also, a great thank you for the donation of $ to send the care packages.
To date we have shipped 65 care packages from Support Our Troops. The troops see the generosity of Vero Beach as great moral support of the efforts they are putting in for us overseas. OOHRAH!

Send a Card

Xerox is sending thank you cards to our troops serving overseas. If you would like to send a free card please visit their site: www.letssaythanks.com

BTW - picture is of Michael, elbow deep in sludge/sewage - YUCK!

As-Salāmu `Alaykum

Word from Mike's e-mail we receieved Sunday:
"All the Marines are still really excited to be here...the packages help keep it that way too! I attached a photo of some of the guys going through the packages. I'm sure CNN is constantly discussing the futility of us being here...not so much the case. The Afghans want our help, but are scared to take it. In time, I think we will be able to build a better relationship...so the cause isn't a lost one yet. The Taliban really do have a hold on these people though."

Indian River County 4-H Horsemasters

We have spent the morning packing Christmas care packages. Our latest donation came from Morgan Pomfret's 4-H Horsemaster's Club. Thanks Morgan and all - we will be sending your supplies out on Monday. ;-)
On this Thanksgiving day, we would like to give thanks today to all of our military service men and service women. A special thanks goes out to the families that have sons, daughters, grandsons, granddaughters, husbands or wives away from home. We know you miss them the way we miss our Mikey!

Yes I Can!

Thanks to Brenda Kendrick Truesdale, her Yes I Can club (ESE students and mentors) from Sebastian River High School, collected approximately 50 boxes of supplies for care packages along with funds to ship them! They also wrote letters and cards for the Marines. The ones that were left open we read, wish I could post some. What a way to uplift the spirits of our Marines! Loved them :-) Once again, our greatest heartfelt thanks go out to everyone in our community that is supporting Mike and his platoon.

Its Cold in Afghanistan

Let me start with a disclaimer, the following is not from any complaints from Michael, simply him answering our questions.
Q: I heard it is getting cold at night. What is it like?
A: Yeah, one night it got down to 18°, our water was frozen when we woke up.
Q: Do you have enough cold weather gear?
A: Mostly.
Q: Have you seen any poppy fields?
A: They are everywhere, same as pot fields. Yesterday a pot field was burning; a mortar must have hit it.
Q: Can you tell us what you have been doing?
A: We are working on repairing a bridge that was hit. It’s crazy; the locals are lined up waiting to get across the river. We are working in waist deep, ummm, basically sewage. While we are in the river working, cows, goats, etc. come down to the water and that is basically the cesspool. I sure would like to take a shower, but that won’t be happening for a while.
Q: Have you seen any gunfire?
A: Don’t worry; I am doing my best to keep my guys safe. I take the maximum precaution every day. *Author’s note – do you notice how he dodged that question?
Q: Are you getting mail on a regular basis?
A: That’s funny, I seem to be getting the most and at first my guys were giving me a hard time – yeah – see his mail has Lt. on it that’s why he’s getting mail! Then they realized when I get packages they are actually the ones getting the packages – so they are real happy when the packages arrive! I keep my letters and read, re-read and then read them some more each day. The letters can keep coming, they help a lot.
Q: How are you?
A: Life’s GOOD! I mean, waking up to 18° mornings, working in excrement, doing what I’m trained to do, can’t get any better! *Author’s note – I believe he is a Taoist!
Q: What’s the best thing about being over there?
A: Payday! *Author’s note: those of you that know Miguel, this makes so much sense ;-)

Vero Beach 32963 Article

Packages have FINALLY arrived!

Yeah, I got to speak with Mike this morning and he said that they have received about 22 packages so far. As expected - the packages came in and he told his Marines to open them, pull out letters for him and to pass out whatever is in the boxes amongst themselves. So much for trying to send Michael anything but letters! He said THANK YOU, the packages were a HUGE morale boost for his Marines. He said when he got to the boxes all was gone. I guess we are taking care of his needs if we meet the needs of his platoon. To everyone that has helped and is continuing to help in the care package project - it is working :-)

Mike said they went through a sand storm. His analogy was like watching a large rain storm heading your way, you watch it with anticipation - the rain coming to cool the Florida heat and to wash away the dirt - but - the sand storm doesn't cool, the sand storm doesn't clean - the sand storm just brings more sand! He said that he had been out on a mission for a few weeks and he thought the sand was everywhere you don't want it, until the sand storm, and then he found out there are even more places the sand can get in that you don't want it to! He said his sleeping bag just looks like the sand, can't tell any difference between it and the ground.

2-D Mike Back to School

The Imagine School of South Vero has taken our Support Our Troops campaign as their school project! Tina Skubal, from the school, has asked the students to bring in donated supplies as well as make Christmas cards for the platoon :-) Tina's father is a Marine so this campaign is near and dear to her heart.

 

We have made a life size cardboard standup to place in the school. The picture shows Wayne Tozzolo, 2-D Mike and Carolyn Lange.

It's late, do you know where your Marine is?

It's late in Afghanistan (12:30 AM) and we just got a phone call from Miguel. In true Michael form he said all is good, good food (you have to realize this comes from a man that would buy $1.00 steaks when he was at UF!), good lodging, etc. Could hear in his voice how tired he was but he said "Don't worry Mom, I feel great!" Wonder if we will ever get the true story from him when he gets back?

He has still only received the first 2 packages. We told him of our communities support of his platoon and he couldn't believe the generosity of our county. When asked what was needed to help the platoon he said socks are greatly needed, colors of black or brown.

Again, he couldn't tell us when he is out of base camp but he did say he will do his best to keep in contact with us. He has so much to tell us but because of OPSEC he can't say much, but we did get a big "Love you guys." We love you to Mikey!!!!

Support of the community

Whew - our community ROCKS! The support and prayers that are going out to our military overseas is incredible.

Thank you EVERYONE :-)

News from Michael

Ooh rah - we received an e-mail from Miguel this AM! He sent a couple of pictures as well as letting us know he has received 2 packages so far - he said to give a big thank you for the troop supplies! The supplies were much needed and much appreciated by all. (Little does he know he has boxes and boxes yet to arrive!) He said that the picture of him in the dark looks like he is wearing gloves - he's not - that is the moon dust. He also said so far they are getting fed well.

Suggested Supply List

I pulled this information from the MarineParents.com website.

Please click on the lists for full version.

In the News

Please go to the links below to see a the local coverage we are receiving. :-)

http://tc.yourhub.com/VEROBEACH/Stories/Military/Active-military/Story~663758.aspx

http://veronews.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2945:marines-parents-friends-seek-help-sending-46:care-packages&catid=192:leadstories

http://veronews.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2943:video-community-support-needed-for-marine-platoon&catid=156:top-stories&ltemid=147

Boxes, boxes and more boxes!

Well, we have spent most of the day packing care packages. We have filled 30 so far to bring our total up to 46. That was our first goal - reached - Hoo Rah! Thank you everyone. We still need donations of $ to help with the shipping costs - approx. $14.00/box.

First call from Michael

Michael's parents and sisters received their first call at 2:00 AM our time - 10:00 AM Afghanistan time. Needless to say they were thrilled to hear from him. He was very vague as to his mission (which is expected). He did say that so far they are receiving three hot meals a day and he is very busy. In true Michael spirit, he didn't have anything negative to say. He did mention the 'moon dust' which he compared to spreading 6 inches of flour all over your house and living in that. Thankfully the dust isn't gritty so when it is in their boots it isn't like having our beach sand in our shoes - which we all know is frustrating.

This goes out to Michael - Go Gators, great win yesterday!!! Hoo Rah and Semper Fi

More boxes to go out Monday!

Friday we received a most generous donation from a local family, John, Beverly, Katelin and Mady Lier. They have donated enough supplies for us to send another 25 boxes (these are the large boxes) to Afghanistan!

We can't thank all of you enough for the support you are giving to us and the military. Once we hear from Michael and his platoon we will post their responses.

Again, we thank all of you for your continued support - keep those donations coming!

We have lift off!

Support Our Troops

A support our Troops movement is underway to supply Sebastian's 2nd LT Marine Mike Tozzolo and his Platoon of  with much needed supplies in Afghanistan. The first 20 boxes went out on October 16th. Packages take about three weeks to reach Mike in the Helmand Province where he and his 43 men and 2 women Marines are stationed. This project's success is the result of wonderful Americans opening their hearts and donating money for this much needed cause.

 

My hope is to continue sending packages to Mike and his platoon and other brave men and women on a regular basis. Letters of encouragement and notes with local news can be sent directly to Mike and are so very much appreciated.

 

We have now opened an account at Wachovia Bank where all donations can be  directly deposited into the "Support our Troops" account to provide  for more provisions on an ongoing basis. Please make your checks out to "Support our Troops" and take to any Wachovia branch for deposit.

 

I encourage anyone to e-mail me to be put on my e-mail list to receive updates and news from Mike and pictures of our ongoing efforts. I thank you in advance for your support and hope you too will feel moved to contribute to this much needed cause. 

 

 God Bless America!

 

Regards,

Carolyn Lange

carolynlange@comcast.net

772-473-7982

 

2nd Lt Michael Tozzolo

CLB 1 ENG CO

UNIT 42390

FPO, AP 96427-2390