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My husband retired summer 2003 from the Army. Our last duty station was in Stuttgart, Germany and my husband worked for the European Command Surgeon General. One of the responsibilities of that office was oversight and monitoring of the movements and care of wounded troops. Below you will find a copy of a memo forwarded to me from friends still in Germany at that time. If you if you would like to participate in this project to send cards or bookmarks to wounded soldiers and the staff and volunteers who are working long hours on their behalf, please send me an email (or letter) or use the link above to join our Yahoo!group. Joining the Yahoo!group is important so that I can let you know if there are any changes in this project.

Wounded are arriving sometimes 20-30 or more a day. For every death that is reported there are 5-6 wounded. Some stay only a few days enroute to the U.S. while others may stay for several weeks for stabilization or recovery. Local groups have been fundraising, including Christmas Wrapping booths at the PX's and other projects. I am hoping that this project can give both a little relief and a sense of wider support to these efforts.

At the end of this email you will find more information regarding the need for this project. I would like to suggest the following guidelines:

1. In order to keep costs down (cardmaking and postage) I am requesting that cards be made in the form of a postcard type--no fold, no envelope. Alternatively, bookmarks would also be nice. Please decorate one side with a cheerful, inspirational and/or patriotic theme and write a brief, heartfelt message on the reverse.

2. If you wish you may include your mailing address on the card--however, please do not suggest or indicate that you would like a reply.

3. I am asking that participants try to send a ratio of 8 cards (or bookmarks) meant for a wounded soldier, to 1 card meant for a hospital staff person, and 1 meant for a hospital volunteer. Staff and volunteers do a tremendous amount of work to make things as comfortable as possible for our wounded and deserve our praise as well.

4. If you are able and wish to include a check for a small donation, please enclose it in a sealed envelope. Donation information follows later in this email. You may, of course, send donations directly to the fund if you prefer. If you wish to receive a receipt back from the Chaplain's office for your donation, please include a self-addressed, stamped envelope (37 cent stamp).

5. There is no specific deadline for this project. Do not feel stressed to get these done right away--if you have time now, great. Just send on them as you have time to make them. This project will be ongoing until there is no longer any need. You might drop me an email whenever you put some into the mail so I can anticipate what is coming. If you belong to a stamping group maybe this could be a project for one of your meetings.

6. Please mail your packets to: ArtNeko Troop Support, 302 NE 57th Ave., Portland, OR 97213. If you have questions, email me your phone number and the best time to call, and I will call you or you can call me at 503-234-6592 (Pacific Time Zone). It is also possible to arrange to mail your packets directly to Landstuhl now. Please contact me for the mailing address.

Additional information: The following is from a Memo forwarded to me by friends in Stuttgart. Although it was written a while back, all the information still pertains.

AEAG-CH 17 October 2003 MEMORANDUM FOR WHOM IT MAY CONCERN SUBJECT: Support for Casualties at Landstuhl MEDCEN (Items in red/( ) are edits by Art Neko) 1. I have received information from the Command Chaplain at Landstuhl Army Medical Center that there is an urgent need to support the military casualties coming into Landstuhl from Iraq and Afghanistan. The casualties need clothing, toiletries and other personal items. Specifically, they need underwear such as boxer shorts and undershirts, jackets, sweat suits, shoes (sneakers), and other appropriate clothing items like pullover shirts. These clothing items need to be in various sizes for both men and women, although mostly for men. Larger sizes in shoes are in especially short supply such as 13-16 men’s. They also need other personal items such gym bags, back packs, telephone cards, games, CDs and individual CD players and toiletries such as tooth brushes, tooth past, razors, shaving cream, combs, brushes, shampoo and deodorant. All donated items should be new. They also need snack items such as candy, baked goods, nuts, instant cereals like oatmeal. Both homemade baked goods and commercial items are acceptable, as are food court coupons. Donations of any of these items will be a great help to our military casualties. (Please do not send these items. This memo was prepared for local distribution in Germany. Restrictions on mail due to security considerations can result in the return or disposal of packages from unknown senders. In addition, the cost of mailing these items can be quite high. If you wish to make a contribution to the Chaplain’s fund it will be used to help meet these needs. Update 1/7/05: There are organizations now organizing collection and sending needed items. If you know of such a group, send me the information and I will post it here) 2. Our military casualties are medically evacuated from the area of combat operations with only the clothes on their backs. They have no civilian clothing or personal items when they arrive. The Landstuhl Army Medical Center Chaplain’s Office collects donated items and provides them to the casualties. However, they are in constant need of replacement of these items because of the quantity given out. 3. The 6th Area Support Group Chaplain’s Office is collecting donated items and will transport them to Landstuhl Army Medical Center. If you want to help in this project, please notify my office and we will arrange to accept donations and transport them to Landstuhl. 4. We will be accepting donations beginning Friday, 24 October 2003 at all IC Offices, the Patch Chapel and the 6th ASG Chaplain’s Office on the 4th floor of the Washington Center, Patch. Other donation points will be announced as they become available. 5. Cash donations can be made to the 6th ASG Chaplain’s Tithes and Offering Fund Helping Hand Sub-account. Please see CH(CPT) Thomas Holmes in the 6th ASG Chaplain’s Office to make a donation of cash or check. (You may make a check to this fund or to the USAREUR Chaplain's Fund for OEF/OIF If you prefer to send your donation directly to one of these funds instead of through ArtNeko Troop Support Project, please email me for instructions.) 6. Please call my office, 430-5000 if you have any questions. (This is a military DSN number.) ORIGINAL SIGNED SHERRILL F. MUNN Chaplain (Colonel) USA 6th ASG Chaplain Thanks again to all of you who want to help out with this project. We can all hope for a lasting Peace in the coming year. Candice Jordan mail@artneko.com