Thank you for honoring our military heroes

The Bureau County Republican’s Dear Soldier letter collection has been a huge success. A big thank you goes out to all those who have participated in this collection drive, which asked area residents to write letters or draw pictures that will ultimately be sent to military personnel serving overseas and abroad, as well as to U.S. veterans.

A total of 2,019 letters have been collected thanks to the generous efforts of those throughout the Illinois Valley.

The students of Bureau, Putnam and LaSalle counties responded in force with the vast majority of the letters donated having been collected through the schools. A big thank you to all the teachers, schools and classrooms who took the time and made the effort to contribute.

The many letters collected demonstrate appreciation and patriotism through an assortment of thank you cards, personal letters of appreciation and friendship, and a plethora of creative artwork.

Starting about a month ago, the Bureau County Republican began to collect the many mailboxes dispersed throughout the Illinois Valley. With mailboxes placed in almost all the schools and many other establishments, the collection has been a community success of all the Bureau County Republican staff.

Soon, the letters of appreciation donated to the BCR will be packaged up and mailed to Operation Gratitude organization in California. This national non-profit group will begin the process of screening the letters and designating which military man or woman should receive each letter in a personal care package.

Previously reported in the BCR, each care package mailed to military personnel contains donated items valued from $75 to $100 and costs the organization $15 to assemble and ship. Since 2003, Operation Gratitude has worked to send out 1,186,468 personalized care packages to American military men, women and families.

According to the Operation Gratitude organization, “Of all the items included in these packages, the most cherished are the personal letters of appreciation!”

A sergeant’s response after receiving a care package from the Operation Gratitude organization is listed on its website.

“I do really miss my family, but getting letters of support from folks like you helps me push on through the day.”

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A Dear Soldier sampling ...

Students around the Illinois Valley wrote letters and drew pictures for the Dear Soldier project. Following are a few letters received from the Bright Beginnings program at Douglas Grade School in Princeton.

The BCR thanks all educators who helped with this letter-writing campaign.

"Dear Soldier, I want to visit you. I am 4 years old. My favorite color is pink. I have 2 dogs at my house. Thank you for keeping me safe! Your Friend, Ellie"

"Thank you for saving us. I wish I could see you. Thank you for protecting the world. - Lincoln, age 5."

"Dear Soldier, Thank you for saving my town. You are the best hero ever! I am 5 years and I like soldiers. My dad was a soldier and I want to be one when I get big. Your Friend, Connor."

"Dear Soldier, I am 3 years old. I like to play with my brother and sister. I like to play doctor at school. We sing songs and eat snacks. Thak you for keeping me safe. Your Friend, Iliana"