Residents and
the American Legion post contributed to the gift boxes.
DIXFIELD – Thanks to several Dixfield residents, 12 large boxes filled with Christmas cheer and goodies were en route to Iraq on Tuesday.
Their destination: a unit of the 82nd Airborne Division of the Aviation Support Battalion in the Army’s Aviation Intermediate Maintenance Company.
That’s the unit that the town adopted nearly three weeks ago after Town Clerk Vickie Carrier learned that some soldiers with the unit were not receiving any mail.
Carrier organized the donation effort and adoption after speaking with her nephew, Scott Drown, 26, a 1994 graduate of Dirigo High School in Dixfield, and a member of the Army unit.
After the adoption, Carrier learned the men and women in the unit “would love to receive” chocolate chip cookies, Chapstick, powdered Gatorade, sun screen, beef jerky, tuna in a pouch, toothpaste, Pringles, cup-of-noodles, non-scented hand lotion, heavy-duty one-gallon Ziploc bags, eye drops, baby wipes, Oreo cookies, envelopes, cards or letters.
On Tuesday, several hundred dollars worth of the requested items and more had been donated from 62 residents and the American Legion Post 100.
More than enough cash to mail the packages had also poured in, Carrier said, adding that people had approached her in area stores, giving her money for postage.
“The people in Dixfield have certainly shown their support for the troops. We even used the extra money sent in for postage and bought another whole box load of the requested items,” she added.
In addition to the goodies, a copy of last month’s initial Sun Journal story about the project was included in each box, along with a Christmas card from the town, and a list of every donor.
“The troops will also be surprised to find Christmas lights, and a candle or two, and a centerpiece for their Christmas holiday from the well-wishers in Dixfield,” Carrier said.
Also included in the boxes is a winter outfit consisting of a sweater, slacks, underwear, socks and colorful headbands for a 6-year-old Iraqi child who was badly burned during a bombing attack, Carrier added.
That girl, Aya, was the subject of a lengthy story in the Nov. 1 issue of the Mideast Edition of Stars and Stripes newspaper. Carrier said the child was treated for severe burns for four weeks in September at the 21st Combat Support Hospital at LSA Anaconda, Iraq.
“Scott said he had seen a little Iraqi girl in a convoy who had been badly burned and the article reminded him of her,” Carrier added.
Town office chatter in mid-November culminated in the town adopting the military unit, believed to be a first in Maine, Carrier said.
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