'Operation Mom' eases family fears
March 21, 2003 (Page A7)

Parent networks soothe those whose loved ones serve in the U.S. military during the war on Iraq .

By Dogen Hannah and Kiley Russell TIMES STAFF WRITERS

Linda and Rich Silverman know the fears that prey on parents of children fighting a war.
Twice now, their 32-year-old son, Matt, has heeded his country's call to arms in the Middle East. In 1991, the Army helicopter pilot served in Operation Desert Storm, and he is now helping U.S. forces coordinate air operations over Iraq.

"We're very concerned," Rich Silverman said. "We're nervous, afraid, apprehensive - all the words any time a child's in harm's way."

Now they and other families who have been through this wringer before find themselves comforting those who have not. In some cases, anxious parents have found solace in the reassuring words of their children.

That's what happened Wednesday morning when Rich Silverman answered the phone at work and heard his son's voice. Father and son joked a bit, taking the edge off the hint that something could happen soon.

"He said: 'I wanted to let you know that I'm OK,'" Linda Silverman said.
On Thursday, less than 24 hours after U.S. forces attacked Iraq, Linda Silverman answered the phone to hear the anxious voice of a friend, a single mother whose son is on an aircraft carrier near Iraq.

"She sounded kind of worried and upset," Linda Silverman said. "I talked to her for about 20 minutes and got her calmed down."

Since the war began, the phone has been ringing in Claudia Strongman's house as well.
The Antioch resident is a member of Operation Mom, a support group of family and friends of men and women in the armed forces.
The group sends care packages - "little touches of home" - to soldiers, sailors and aviators who may not have family looking out for them, Strongman said. In addition, the group's members gain some peace of mind from sharing their fears and hopes.

"We're just checking in with each other," said Strongman, whose 21-year-old son Adam is serving in the Army. "The folks that I'm talking to are praying. Their faith carries them on."

In San Ramon, Peggy Conklin has joined a similar support group, Blue Star Moms, consisting mostly of women with children in the military. In turn, she comforts her husband when he frets over their two sons serving in the 75th Ranger Regiment in the Persian Gulf.

"My wife is kind of my support group," Mike Conklin said. "If I'm feeling kind of punky, like I am today, I stay home and go for walks with my chocolate lab, Buddy. That's my therapy."

Other parents draw support from their children's dedication. It is comforting, said Pleasanton's Delia Muniz, to know that her 22-year-old son, Antoni Jose Valencia, a Marine Corps helicopter pilot, has the strength of his convictions.

"He's not scared," Muniz said. "His courage puts my mind at ease."

She also takes comfort in frequent phone calls from friends and family. Still, Muniz, a single mother, doesn't seem entirely worry-free, and an edge of fear crept into her voice as she, described the dangers her son could face.

"I'm just hoping that God is looking down on (the soldiers) and is there with them," Muniz said. "If I can't be there, I'll send Him."

http://www.bayarea.com/mld/cctimes/5447093.htm

LIVERMORE - The City Council has agreed to allow various public buildings, such as City Hall and city libraries, to be used as drop-off stations for donated snacks and hygiene items to be sent to American troops in Iraq.

"We need to show our men and women in the Middle East that we're thinking about them," Kristin Ekvall of Livermore, local coordinator of Operation: MOM, told the council Monday night.

At the request of Operation: MOM, the council informally authorized City Manager Linda Barton to provide a small pot of city money to help pay postage for boxes of items sent overseas. Barton said Tuesday the amount would probably be under $5,000.

Operation: MOM is a support group of family and friends of American service members. Ekvall's 21-year-old son, Marine Cpl. Jason Myers, is stationed in Iraq.

Needed items include travel-size packets of baby wipes for soldiers unable to shower regularly, black socks, beef jerky, writing paper and envelopes, travel-size lip and skin sunscreen and Visine eye drops.

Snack items could include such things as protein bars and packets of powdered drink mix to help improve the taste of water.

Ekvall said she plans to ask the Dublin and Pleasanton city councils for support similar to that given by Livermore.

For information on Operation: MOM, go to its Web site at www.operationmom.org or call Ekvall at
925-443-7841.

http://www.bayarea.com/mld/cctimes/5483032.htm

Posted on Thursday, April 3, 2003

Rally to Support Troops set at City Hall Tuesday
CONTRA COSTA TIMES (Antioch)

STAFF REPORT

ANTIOCH - Trees festooned with yellow ribbons to honor U.S. troops overseas and a program of patriotic songs will highlight Antioch's "Support our troops" rally at 5:29 p.m. Tuesday.

A flag raising and a moment of silence at the flagpole outside City Hall will open the ceremonies at Third and H streets.

A bugle rendition of taps by Sea Cadet Andrew Strausbaugh will be followed by a walk to the El Campanil theater led by the Travis Air Force Base honor guard. The program continues at the theater with singing by Briana Soule and Jim Martin. The yellow ribbons will adorn trees on Second Street.

Antioch Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 6435 honor guard will present flying military service flags.

Councilman Arne Simonsen cently presented the city the post quartermaster's gift of a POW flag to fly below the U.S. flag at City Hall until the troops all come home.

Clergy from the Roman Catholic, Protestant and Jewish Traditions will offer inspirational words and prayers.

Volunteers from Operation Mom will distribute yellow ribbons and "Until they all come home" lapel pins.

EACH MORNING, the custodian of Dougherty Elementary School raises the American flag up the pole at the front of the school.

And each morning, as the Stars and Stripes rise into the air, Joyce's thoughts are transformed thousands of miles away to the battlefields of Iraq, where her 22-year-old son Daniel, a Marine lance corporal, is fighting to remove Saddam Hussein from power.

Joyce's motherly concerns for the safety of her son and the other men and women of the U.S. and British armed forces are not lost on the students or faculty of Dougherty. Joyce has been receiving a strong outpouring of support as part of "Operation: MOM," which works to gather, package and ship toiletries and sundries to the U.S. soldiers in Iraq.

"I've always felt patriotic. I became active when Desert Storm was going on. I decorated the school with yellow ribbons. And I never thought that it would be my son fighting the next time," says Joyce.

Operation: MOM volunteers had been waiting for approval from the military before sending packages to the soldiers. That came just last week, when the first 87 boxes were shipped to Iraq. The next shipment is scheduled to be sent Friday, and will include a variety of items the soldiers will certainly welcome, including cleaning wipes, eye drops, toothpaste and beef jerky, to name just a few of the carefully screened items.

What Joyce says has really touched her heart has been the support of children, including one first-grade boy who used all of his allowance to buy a variety of items to ship to the soldiers.

And then there's the many letters the kids have been writing to her son Daniel, including a note completely penned by Julia, a first-grader at Dougherty, who says she is praying for him to come home safely.

"What you are doing for our country is very brave," writes Julia, who added a handmade cross necklace for the lance corporal to wear for good luck. Joyce says some of the kids also have decided to write jokes for the soldiers, so they can take their minds -- for a minute -- off the battlefields.

Joyce is quick to point out that other schools in Dublin, including Dublin High School where her oldest son works as a custodian and also raises the flag there each morning, have been supportive of the effort and are contributing supplies and letters.

Operation: MOM chapters are beginning to spring up in the area. Besides a Tri-Valley group that Joyce is part of, there's also one in Antioch, Castro Valley and one expected to get organized in Tracy.

You can find out more information by logging on to www.operationmom.org or by contacting Joyce at 925-443-9572.

http://www.bayarea.com/mld/cctimes/5600937.htm