I belong to VFW Post 9459 in Lisbon. We send items to the troops in Iraq. We know what the troops are going through, because we were there during other wars. After sending a box of goodies to Iraq, we received this letter:

“I received this morning a box containing all kinds of really cool stuff from you folks. You know the ironic part of it? The folks here ravaged the box despite the fact that many of the items in the box are available at the PX. Everyone pretty much has access to cash, as there is nothing really here to spend it on. But it was the fact that the things in there were from ‘Home.’ That alone drew everyone in to pick through it. The fact that you sent something, just something small, like some chips, that makes it really special.

“It says someone back home is thinking of us. They haven’t forgotten. Even some of my, shall we say, battle-hardened kids who are here on their second tour, drifted in just to pick through the box.

“The bottom line is, it’s not the stuff in the box, it’s the thought that means so much here and draws all of us together. From the bottom of our hearts, thank you for thinking of us. It brought a little bit of home to this place.”

We all could learn a lesson from that letter.

Phillip E. Webber Sr., Sabattus