Close Window Archive Copies of Newsletter Print
Marine Parents Logo a Place to Connect and Share 
MarineParents.com Newsletter
a Place to Connect & Share 
In This Issue
Deployment Learning Center
Homecoming Learning Center
Bootcamp Learning Center
Marine Corps T-Shirts & Gifts
OpPAL™ Marine Returns Home
What Can We Sacrifice in Return?
Chat with Dr. Cantrell
New Performance Jackets
Marine Moms Get Muddy
Yellow Ribbon Magnets
Marines Train in Australia
Packing Tips
Military Family of the Year
Recruits Learn to Shoot
Recruit Parents Newsletter is Here!
Wear Red Friday
$5 Coupon Hurry, Expires July 25!
Support Our Marines!
 
 
Purple Heart Hero Support™ an Outreach Program of Marine Parents.com
 
Team Marine Parents, an Outreach Program of Marine Parents.com 
Team Marine Parents™
 
Show your support of our Marines and their families at home! Participate in one of the MarineParents.com Outreach Programs today!  Our Marines need YOU!
Support for You:
a Place to
Connect & Share™
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Learning Center:
Operations Security
Operations Security OPSEC

NOTE: When communicating online, your Marine's privacy is as important as Operations Security. Please respect YOUR Marine's privacy!

Learning Center:
About Deployment
 
 
(from your Marine, with the USMC, and with other families)
 
(tips, tricks and money savers for mailing to YOUR Marine)
 
(bills, taxes, legal issues, injuries, notification from the Marine Corps)
 
 
Learning Center:
About Homecoming
 
 
 
 
 
(Tip: While in our store, check in your Marine's unit store for more homecoming shirts!)
Learning Center:
Bootcamp
 
 
 
 
Unit Chat Nights 

Unit Chat Night Schedule:

Sunday: 1/8
Monday: 1/7, 2nd LAR
Wednesday: 2/1, 5/10
Thursday: 1/5,  2/3
Friday: 1/1, 13th MEU

For additional information about the Chat Room and Unit Chat Nights for your Marine's Unit, please see:
MarineParents.com Chat Gif 
Local Support Groups in Your Area
 
For a list of all support groups in our database or to find one in your area, see:
 
If you are interested in starting a local support group in your area, please visit the "Support Groups" section of our website:
 
Marine Corps Spirit
T-shirts, Gifts & More
Show your Marine Corps spirit and pride!  Proceeds from sales support MarineParents.com, an IRS approved 501(c)(3) public charity.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Marines The Few The Proud
Visit Our Sponsors
Sign Up for the Newsletter
Join Our Mailing List
July 22, 2009
Dear Marine Families,
 
If this is the first edition of the MarineParents.com Newsletter you have received, WELCOME! If you are a returning reader we are glad you have joined us.
 
About a year and a half ago, we started tracking statistics on total website visits and support requests for the suite of Marine Parents websites and outreach programs. The statistics continue to increase dramatically each year. So far this year, daily visitors to our websites average 18,591 per day. The support requests acted on by our volunteers average 1158 per day.
 
As the organization continues to grow, so do our financial needs, volunteer hours, and staff requirements.  Thankfully, the families we support continue to support us through donations and fundraising efforts. Your purchases through our corporate store and our Cafe Press stores help with the financial needs as well. 
 
We've highlighted a few of your successes in this newsletter, including the dollar campaign and Team Marine Parents™.  I encourage you to read those articles as well as visit the pages below for updates and progress reports on the organization:
 
 
Thank you for your continued support! 
OpPAL™ Marine Returns Home
Greeted with Hero's Welcome
 
Operation PAL Marine Returns Home"In a place where crowds are a given and homecomings happen every day, a couple of hundred people, most perfect strangers, gathered to surprise one man in a way that doesn't happen every day."
 
That is how KUSA*TV out of Denver, Colorado opened their recent coverage of Operation PAL™ Marine Lance Corporal John Thomas Doody and the "Welcome Home" he received at the Denver International Airport.
 
Lance Corporal John was added to the Operation Prayers and Letters™ program in March of 2007. After two and a half years in the hospital, he was able to return home on July 15, 2009.
 
John received the type of homecoming all our heroes in uniform deserve and, in response, he was quoted as saying, "I love home. It's good to be back." 
Our Marines Sacrifice for Us
What Can We Sacrifice in Return? 
 
Our deployed Marines are spending their summer in a combat zone and they're sacrificing so much to be there: comfort, time with friends and family, barbeques. . .

Dollar Care Package CampaignIt's time for us to ask: What can we sacrifice in return?
 
We have 1,000 care packages to ship overseas in August and we're asking for YOUR help to cover the cost of shipping.
 
Think about what you can sacrifice to help get these packages to our Marines. Instead of going out for dinner, eat at home one night. Skip one trip to the coffee shop. Or rent a movie rather than going to the theater.

Send the money you saved through your sacrifice to:
 
MarineParents.com, Inc.
Attn: Care Package Campaign
P O Box 1115
Columbia, MO 65205-1115  
 
And don't forget to ask your friends and family to join in. A small sacrifice on our part can make a world of difference to a Marine overseas!
 
To learn more and watch our progress, Click here...
Chat with Expert on Homecoming
Warrior Transitioning for Marines and Family 
 
Dr. Bridget CantrellToday, July 22nd, 2009 from 8:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. (central time), we invite you to chat online with Dr. Bridget Cantrell, author and expert on homecomings, PTSD, and combat recovery. The chat will be held in the MarineParents.com Chat Room. It is free and open to the public.
 
 
Save the date - Dr. Cantrell will offer her next chat on August 12th. Mark your calendar!  
New Performance Jackets 
Shop Here and Support Marine Families  
 
New Performance Jacket!New Eagle, Globe and Anchor items inlcude the performance jacket shown here, as well as baseball caps and collared denim shirts.
 
With different colors to choose from for your EGA, you can mix and match to create EXACTLY what you're looking for!
 
We know you could get your Marine Corps gear anywhere and we THANK YOU for showing your support by shopping MarineParents.com! 
 
 
Use Coupon POPPYTORSO to save $5 on an order of $50 or more through July 25.
Marine Moms Get Muddy
Team Marine Parents™

Camp Pendleton Mud Run and Quantico's Run AmuckTeam Marine Parents™ participated in the Camp Pendleton Mud Run and Quantico's Run Amuck.
 
Four Marine Moms braved these two events and collectively raised over $2,800 for Marine Parents outreach services. All four ladies exceeded their fundraising goals!
 
Both Mud Run events are challenging running races with hills and obstacles such as river crossings, 5 foot walls with mud on both sides, tunnel crawls, slippery hill climbs, lots of mud pits and Marines with fire hoses!
 
Yellow Ribbon Magnets
Perfect for Any Marine Supporter
 
USMC Yellow Ribbon MagnetA wonderful way to express your support... until they all come home.
 
This yellow ribbon magnet allows you to show your support twice over:
 
Place it on your vehicle for a visual display of your support AND support Marine families through your purchase!
 
Get your yellow ribbon magnet today! Click here... 
 
Ever wonder about the history of the yellow ribbon?
 
Understanding the history behind the ribbon ignites patriotism and sheds light on why it is so important not only to Americans, but to any country. 
 
Marines Train in Australia
Exercise Talisman Saber 2009 
 
Marines Train in AustraliaSam Hill, Australia - 
As the sun began to set over the horizon, 3rd Royal Australian Regiment, in support of 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, made their way through thick brush to a small village where they would secure the town from hostile villagers during the Battle of Sam Hill.

Umpires from the Australian Army's Forces Command were on site to observe and referee the engagement.

According to the executive officer for the coalition force umpires, the mission of 3rd RAR during the battle was to ultimately create a good environment with healthy relations between the residents of the town and themselves so their counterparts from the 31st MEU could move in and occupy the location with little or no resistance. 
 
Packing Tips
Care Packages for Deployed Marines
 
Our troops make tremendous sacrifices to serve and sending care packages is an outstanding way to show our support. Here are a few packing tips to Flat Rate Box from the USPSconsider as you're sending care packages to your deployed Marine. 
 
Time To Arrive
Packages are taking about 7-14 days to arrive (much improved over 2003 when packages took up to 28 days!).
Package Size
Keep the packages small in size. The Marine Corps says "No bigger than a shoe box" is the best size.
Military Family of the Year
Nominations Accepted until August 7th 
 
Military Family of the YearThe National Military Family Association is accepting nominations for the Military Family of the Year Award until August 7th, 2009.
 
The winner receives a trip to Washington, DC in October, 2009 and $1,000.
 
Would you like to nominate your military family or a military family you know?
Every Marine is a Rifleman
Recruits Learn to Shoot the Marine Way 
 
Every Marine is a Rifleman"Every Marine a rifleman," no matter what their Military Occupational Specialty has been one of the hallmarks of the Marine Corps throughout our history.
 
From the Marine marksmen shooting from the high rigging on ships during the sea battles of the American Revolution, to the battle of Belleau Wood, France in June of 1918 during World War I where Marines hit German targets from more than 500 yards away, to Gunnery Sergeant Carlos Hathcock, a Marine sniper in Viet Nam with a service record of 93 confirmed kills, we have set ourselves apart by our shooting prowess.
 
To develop those skills recruits will spend two weeks learning how to shoot the Marine Corps way. 
 
Want More Articles like Above?
The Recruit Parents Newsletter is Here! 

Coming Soon! Recruit Parents Newsletter

 
To learn how to sign up for the Recruit Parents newsletter, Click here...
Support Our Troops: Wear Red on Friday
Wear Red on Friday
 
Join the "Wear Red Friday" campaign to show your support of our troops!  We've opened up a brand new line in our online store--you get the quality and service you've come to expect, and you can help encourage those in your community to "Support Our Troops: Wear Red on Friday!"  We've got yard signs and red t-shirts for every family member and everyone in your office! Check it out today:
 
 
 
We've added a new design. Red shirts with white letters on the front:
"Red Friday...it's a military thing"
 
Remember, all proceeds from sale of products in our stores go to support the organization MarineParents.com, Inc. and our outreach projects. MarineParents.com is an IRS approved 501(c)(3) Public Charity.

We hope this week's edition of our email newsletter has been useful for you and your family. If there are topics you would like us to address, or if you have other suggestions for the newsletter, please contact us.

The banner used at the top of this newsletter is a July, 2009 USMC Photo by Lance Cpl. Claudio A. Martinez of two Marine (All-Weather) Fighter Attack Squadron 533 pilots walking away from their jets moments after arriving at Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni. Click here to read additional credits. 
 
MarineParents.com, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) public charity. MarineParents.com, Inc. was founded in January, 2003 in response to parents' needs to find information and to have a Place to Connect & Share™ with one another during deployments. Our free online services and connections have expanded to support and educate Marine moms & dads, spouses, families and friends and we'll be offering our 6th Conference in New Orleans in April, 2010. We've helped over 40,000 Marine and recruit families during bootcamp, training, active duty and deployments. We've shipped thousands of care packages overseas to our Marines in Iraq and Afghanistan, sent thousands of prayers and letters to injured Marines and served hundreds of lunches to families caring for their Marines at Bethesda Hospital. You've found a Place to Connect & Share™. 
God Bless and Semper Fidelis,
 

Tracy Della Vecchia
Founder and Executive Director
MarineParents.com, Inc.
 
Neither the United States Marine Corps nor any other component of the Department of Defense has approved, endorsed, or authorized this service.
Marines Establish 1775$5 Off Coupon
Receive $5 off any order of $50 or more.  Enter coupon code POPPYTORSO 
 
HURRY! Offer expires July 25!
 
NOTE: All proceeds are used in support of MarineParents.com, Inc., an IRS approved 501(c)(3) public charity.
New "Marines Est 1775" Design! Check these out!