Desert Angel packs ‘em in

A Packing Party is set for this Saturday at the Lapeer Meijer on DeMille Road. A recent packing party in Oxford found John Cabic packing a box for his son and Andrew Cesarz writing a note to send to his cousin. METAMORA — It all started with the deployed son of a friend in 2001. Louise Downs of Metamora sent a box of goodies — basic necessities, really — to her son’s friend in the Air Force who had been sent to Iraq to help build an airbase — one sandbag at a time-with a full pack and all his gear on his back, alongside so many other similarly-attired enlisted sons and daughters.

The enlisted personnel refer to their location as “the sandbox” — just miles and miles of sand; no grocery stores, no movie theaters, no air conditioning, just sand. So when a package comes from home, it’s a big deal, and that’s the word that came back to Downs.

She enlisted the youth group from her church to help assemble packages of letters and goodies for distribution to troops stationed there — many of whom were the same age as the troops they were mailing to, and the Desert Angel organization was born.

Several times a month in locations around Southeastern Michigan the Angel group will meet and pack anywhere from 40- 100 boxes for distribution to soldiers stationed in Iraq and Afghanistan, among other locations worldwide.

The packages are called “Miracle Boxes,” named after Pfc. Joseph A. Miracle, a Brandon High School graduate who was killed in the line of duty in Afghanistan defending his unit in 2007.

The boxes contain a variety of items, including socks, pocket foods (such as candy bars, graham crackers, Girl Scout cookies; items that can be carried in their pockets when out on a mission) letters from home and "a whole lot of love," says Downs on her website (www.thedesertangel. org).

Each Miracle Box also includes a pocket-sized Bible, a prayer cloth or pocket flag reminding our troops that they are not forgotten — that there are plenty of people back home praying for their safe return.

Items put in the boxes are preferably either made in Michigan or at least made in the USA.

“Desert Angel is a homegrown Michigan non-profit organization, and we try to support as many Michiganbased businesses as possible” notes Downs. “We encourage the donors (if they are over 18 years of age) to include their return address information on the items that they give us, as many of the troops will write them back and personally thank them.”

The hands-down favorite item in the boxes, however, is a letter of encouragement — even if you don’t know the recipient.

“The support from the community has been incredible — Family Book Store has been donating pocket-sized Bibles by the case, as well as offering the opportunity to purchase other sizes at a discount when they know it’s for a Miracle Box.

“I can’t tell you how many letters and e-mails have been sent back to me saying how much the Bibles meant to the soldier who received it” Downs adds. “We’re looking for any and all of the stores in Lapeer to get involved, giving discounts on items purchased if the patrons notify them that it is going toward a box for Desert Angels.”

Desert Angel also partners with several other organizations around the area to benefit wounded veterans, homeless veterans and the K-9 corps deployed to war zones.

In conjunction with the Chief Pontiac Credit Union “Hope boxes” are packed several times a year and distributed to homeless vets in the area. A group of “Miracle quilters” meets once a month at Independence Village in Oxford to sew quilts for wounded veterans at Walter Reed Army Hospital in Washington D.C.; and once a month there are packing parties for boxes for the K-9 corps and their handlers at the Imlay City Senior Citizens Center on Third Street.

A packing party has been scheduled for Sunday, Nov. 7, from 11 a.m.–2 p.m. at Meijer in Lapeer, with the boxes from that date slated to be sent to the National Guard troops deployed to Afghanistan from the Lapeer area.

The most requested items are breakfast foods — instant coffee, granola bars, Pop Tarts, and personal hygiene items like wet wipes. Financial donations also are very welcome — it costs $11 to send a Miracle Box, and the donation is taxdeductible.

One special request is for American flags that have been flown at any of the businesses or government buildings to be enclosed, along with a note stating where it was from, for the boxes that will be packed at the Lapeer Meijer event.

“What a boost in morale for our hometown guys and gals to receive a flag that had been flown at a location that they grew up with, with a note saying that it had been flown in honor of them,” observes Downs. “You can’t imagine the joy that something like that brings. But be sure to enclose your return address; they almost always find a way to write you back and thank you.”

This is a sample of the request and response that Desert Angel receives and fills: (the request was received in August this year):

As most of you already know, I am deployed (again) to southern Afghanistan. This is an email to request (no obligation) some desperately needed items for our combat wounded American Heroes.

Unless you have been deployed to a Forward Operating Base (FOB) or dirt airstrip before, you really can't even begin to imagine what these guys are going through. When we go out to pick our combat wounded off of the battlefield, they only have what they are wearing at the time they were wounded. Most of the time their uniforms have to be cut off and thrown away because of all of the blood.

When they come into the hospital they are only wearing dirty and bloody T-shirts and underwear. Once they are stabilized, they have a long and cold trip back to Germany, sometimes wearing only underwear. To me this is unacceptable ... these guys are giving their lives, and sometimes body parts, for this country, and it is sad to see them in this situation.