Thank You Letters

 I just wanted to say thank you again. I am now current on my rent,and my children and I are no longer facing the reality of being homeless. Your program saved me and my caseworker, Amy, was very kind and understanding. I am forever grateful. God Bless.

Whitney S.
Virginia
Our field office in the Carolinas received this note after a military family attended one of our Thanks For Giving events.

Thank you so very much for the gracious gift of a Thanksgiving dinner for our family. Without the support of Operation Homefront, our family would've probably skipped Thanksgiving this year. This means more to our family than anyone could understand. Thank you again from the bottom of our hearts. Your organization is a HUGE blessing.

Fondly,
The M. Family
North Carolina
 
We received this note from a wounded warrior and his wife who were able to attend our Holiday Toy Drive at Fort Campbell, KY.

My husband has mild PTSD & a spinal injury. I also have spinal injury and we had a LOT of appointments scheduled this week. My husband told me his unit had signed us up for the (Holiday Toy Drive) here on post, but never gave me the date/time/etc so I could put it on our board. He has short-term memory issues due to the PTSD, so it slipped his mind & I couldn't remind him about it. Evidently today was our day & our time slot was at 1100. But we were in Nashville at one of my neurosurgeon appointments. We didn't get the message until we were home, about 1900. These wonderful individuals had been trying to call us all day, left us a couple of messages, and STILL let him come to pick out the gifts for our kids. They even stayed open late for him.

I can't articulate how thankful I am for you all tonight in words. You have saved our Christmas, and my children even got to have their books & stuffed animals tonight! They are so happy!

I don't know who was working at your Ft Campbell location, but I will never forget what you guys have done for us tonight. Thank you so much, all of you, for everything you do to help Military families make Christmas & so many other holidays perfect!

Brandi M.
 
In February 2012, my son Angelo (single father) and his  family including myself, received a WONDERFUL BLESSING.  We were approved to live in one of the Operation Homefront apartments. Our WONDERFUL BLESSING has been a beautiful, touching experience.  My son was Med-Evaced from Eglin AFB, Florida to BAMC San Antonio, TX. We desperately needed a place to live to keep our family  together.

I am my son's caregiver; (the) reason why I live with them, (I) had to resign my job in order to take care of my son and my grandkids.  My savings and income are gone, but my financial commitments are still here. There was no way we were going to be able to comply with our financial commitments, and afford to live in a good family-oriented neighborhood, with our actual income.

With that said: There are not enough words in the dictionary to express how HONORED, GRATEFUL  and BLESSED we are to be part of THE AMAZING OPERATION HOMEFRONT program.

THANKS GRACIE, THANKS OPERATION HOMEFRONT !!!!!!!! I'll be GRATEFUL for the rest of my life.......GOD BLESS YALL !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

(Mother and Caregiver of Wounded Warrior)
 
Our Carolinas office got a call from the South Carolina Society of Respiratory Care. This group had reserved a room at the Hilton to give to a wounded warrior but the soldier backed out at the last minute. They contacted our office who posted to their Facebook asking for names of militaryfamilies that might need a break. A Marine wife wrote about her brother-in-law's family. He was a wounded warrior, married and they had a small child. He had deployed to Iraq five times. He has PTSD, TBI and other smaller injuries. He said the things triggering the PTSD were the fatalities of the women and children that he had witnessed. When we called to tell him he'd been given a free stay in a nice hotel, he was moved to tears. This was the "thank you" letter he sent.

I was not asked nor do I feel obligated to write this letter expressing my gratitude and much appreciation for your generous gift to both me and my wife. I am writing this letter to you and all involved to show that your support and recognition for the sacrifices and honorable duty that our men, women, and spouses do for our great nation is not overlooked. It would be selfish of me to not recognize such a significant gesture given from the heart of the Citizens of such a great country we strive to fight for.

There are so many emotions I am feeling as I put these words together hoping to convey my family's appreciation for people like you. Without people like you and organizations like Operation Homefront, the last ten years of my life would be worth nothing. Much of the time spent talking about War in the past 10 years has been spent viewing the negative aspects of fighting for our country's freedom and the freedom of our fellow man. I would like to add a positive outlook on the freedom we continue to have and the freedom we continue to fight for. Yes there have been many difficulties we have all had to face as a country, losing our loved ones in countless ways. In the same way, we have lost lives, we have also gained lives by liberating a country that was unable to fend for themselves as they were ruled and treated with such evil hate by a merciless leader. We have given hope to people of IRAQ for a better future by building schools and giving every individual the opportunity to better themselves if they so choose.

Many people see war as a political strategy to benefit just a select few views of how the world should be. Personally I view it as an opportunity to stop the suffering of not a country, but to stop the harm to any other human being as we are all created equally in the eyes of God.

In closing I would like to thank you again for showing me such a kind heart in a place in my life where it has been hard to find such a thing. May God bless you and all involved.

Respectfully,
SSgt, USMC (name withheld)

Always faithful
We received this "thank you" from a wounded warrior wife who joined our Hearts of Valor program. Upon joining, each new member receives a care package. Here is her reaction.

OMG!! I just picked up my care package from the post office! Ladies, it brought me to tears...You all are truly angels and this couldn't have come at a better time! I am honored to be part of a group of such spectacular fabulous women. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. I will be forever grateful to be here with you all! Just another moment that something that can be so dark and lonely can be uplifting and joyous!! Thank you!!  

This came from a wounded warrior wife who attended one of our retreats recently. Her husband, injured in combat, is a quadriplegic.

"The retreat was amazing. I was so exhausted emotionally and physically from Friday and Saturday just talking with the wives that come Sunday morning, I slept until 11. I haven't cried that much in a long time. I felt like a weight was lifted though. I got good info on PTSD which I have to say I didn't know that much about it. It was so helpful. The women were all wonderful and Marchelle is a very inspirational woman. I felt like I could relate to her...everyone seemed to relate to her.  Other women lost babies and we stayed up Saturday talking about that and crying. It was actually very helpful because I am still grieving and sometimes I don't know what to do with the pain I feel all the time. These women helped me more than they will probably ever know. Especially the staff. I just felt safe and welcome to share my emotion. We have had a tough 6 months experiencing PTSD for the first time, so it was a very powerful experience."
 
Mr. Knotts,

I would like to thank you for recognizing military children with your outstanding efforts through Operation Homefront. The trip and its events created memories that will last a lifetime. The families and the winners were treated like royalty. In fact, when I returned home I was told to mow the lawn to make sure I remained humbled. I continue to remain humbled by the experience you and your staff helped organize. I would like to specifically recognize the efforts made by June Morse. She made the other winners and myself feel welcomed and comfortable with each days events. Operation Homefront is a wonderful organization whose efforts and contributions are appreciated by many. God bless you and your family and staff.

Sincerely,
Amelia McConnell
2012 Army Military Child of the Year

Thank you Thank you Thank you for everything you have done for us and for OUR NEW HOME!! Dave and I are so blessed to have you and Operation Homefront in our lives:) I cannot express how much we appreciate all the hard work you have done and continue to do! For almost two years now it seemed like our lives were spiraling out of control--- then you and Operation Homefront stepped into our lives and for the first time, the spiraling stopped!! I see my husband smiling and laughing again and the hope that you have given us is beyond measure:) Thank you so much!!

God bless,

Laura M.

 It's always nice to hear back from a military family that we were able to help get through a rough time. Thanks to all our supporters and donors who make it possible for us to provide assistance to American families like this one.
I just wanted to say thank you again for everything that Operation Homefront has done for our family this year! We have had such a rough time with the car repairs and then paying for my father's funeral and a new furnace, all while my husband has been in Afghanistan. I especially appreciate how kind and considerate you have been in dealing with me because it isn't easy asking for help. Thank you again and God Bless!

Heather E.
I would like to personally thank Operation Homefront for the support they have given me during the Military Child of the Year selection process. Though I was not chosen as a ultimate finalist, my questions were answered enthusiastically and I enjoyed communicating with such passionate program facilitators. I would like to first thank you for the new laptop that I recently received; it will definitely accompany me to Georgia Tech next year! I would also like to recognize Ms. Perkins for being very accessible and understanding during the interviews. I enjoyed talking to you and wish you the best!

Could you please forward this email to the rest of the Operation Homefront staff that were involved in the MCOY program? I would like for them to know that their help was appreciated from my end.

Sincerely,
Zachary Herbst
(Semi-finalist for Army Military Child of the Year)
 

We were pleased to receive an update from someone we helped a while ago. Read his inspiring story! Our congratulations to Joel who will soon be receiving a purple heart for his sacrifice.

Dear OH,

My name is Joel Hunt. Six years ago you helped me financially get back on my feet. I am now remarried and my credit score went from 535 to an 800 today. I just purchased a new vehicle and without your support I would never be where I am today. Thank you for giving me a second life chance.

My life from the ski lift:
I joined the Army in 1998 motivated to make the service a 20 year career. On June 17, 2005, during my third Iraq combat deployment in as many years, I was injured by a road-side blast that left me with a severe traumatic brain injury (TBI).

When I returned home injured I felt helpless. I was confined to a wheelchair and my parents were compelled to move in with me and become my caregivers. I consistently endured bouts of dizziness and blackouts and double-vision made it difficult for me to focus. My TBI also affected my body’s ability to regulate body temperature and I was always at risk of over-heating. I could not control nor feel my legs. I was on 15 different medications, the side-effects of which caused me to slur my speech and significantly disrupted my ability to think and concentrate. I sounded and acted as if I were drunk.

Prior to my injury, I prided myself on providing for my soldiers and now I had to swallow my pride and ask for help. I am sure you know how that makes a man feel. I felt small and severely depressed. I was mad at society and hated my life. Night after night, I laid in the dark remembering all my buddies that didn’t come home. I felt guilty when I saw the families of my buddies who were killed in Iraq. Looking into the eyes of their widows and now fatherless children, I felt their anguish and knew they saw me as someone who was lucky to make it back while their loved ones didn’t. This was the most difficult part of my homecoming. I couldn’t get the memories of my dead buddies out of my head. I felt that I should have done more to keep them alive. I wished that I had died in Iraq rather than face the difficulties of my situation.

Admittedly, prior to my injury, I didn’t understand the challenges that people with disabilities face. I guess you can’t truly understand what it’s like to be disabled until your own life is affected by it in some way. Prior to my injury It wasn’t a priority of mine to advocate for or support people with disabilities. However, my injury changed my perspective and gave me a new outlook on life. When I came home I had a new respect for the challenges faced by the disabled. I knew first-hand how challenging a disability can be.

My parents were my biggest supporters. They constantly motivated me to get out of the house and get active. I was lucky because a lot of soldiers didn’t have any support. One sport that they encouraged me to do was skiing. Growing up poor and raised in a small town near Kokomo, IN, I never had the opportunity to ski as a kid. I always thought that skiing was reserved for people who had money. What I didn’t realize is that skiing would change my life.

In December 2008, my parents forced me to go to a ski camp for veterans with TBI. Begrudging I went. Although I felt self-conscious about my TBI and extremely anxious about being around others whom I’d never met due to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), on December 17, 2008, I learned how to ski. Within three days of learning to ski I was carving while going downhill. My instructor, who was a former ski racer, told me that I was doing an awesome job. However, when I asked him if I too could become a ski racer his reply was “No, you’re too old.” This made me mad and determined, so much so that I skied 125 days that season.

Determined to ski race but lacking funds, in 2009 I turned to the Challenged Athletes Foundation (CAF) for assistance. CAF’s Operation Rebound program for injured troops and first responders provided me with the equipment and additional funding necessary to compete as a downhill ski racer.

By the end of the 2009-2010 ski season I was ranked in top 10 of adaptive skiers nationally. Today, I am ranked 5th nationally and 50th in the world as an adaptive skier. Although I remain challenged by TBI, paralysis in my left leg and double-vision that makes it difficult to focus, particularly when racing a slalom course, I have made great strides over the past three years. I’m now only on three medications and I have become an elite ski racer.

Skiing is a way of rehabilitating and getting off of medications. It shows others that people can improve their situation through a good work ethic and constant training. My favorite saying is train like you’re the worst skier in the world and race like a champion. A lot of people hope to make the Paraylmpic team. I’m now confident that I can achieve this goal and become the best skier in the world. By doing so, I hope to inspire others with disabilities by showing them that if a regular guy like me can make it anybody can make it.

It’s my hope that by setting the example, others will realize that tough times don’t last, tough people do.

Thank You
(RET)SPC Hunt Joel
 


 

We received the following note from a gentleman who got a new Ashley Sleep mattress when we distributed 500 new mattresses to military families in San Antonio, TX. Thanks to Ashley Furniture for the generous donation. 

Thank you and your organization for the new mattress. We haven't had any extra cash since my wife started staying at home with our daughter and we moved back stateside. I had been shopping around for new mattresses for the last few weeks and then I got the email on Friday.

I broke my back in Iraq 6 years ago (about). I have terrible chronic back pain. (When I woke up) with pain, I attributed it to the 3 broken vertibrae, not a mattress that needs replacing. I never knew how vital a good mattress is. I guess it's a lot like good tires for your car.

2011 was a horrible year for my house, my father got diagnosed with prostate cancer, we lost my wife's mom to brain cancer among many other horrible instances which made for the worst year of my (and my wife's) life. 2012 is off to a great start, finally got my sleep issue diagnosed with sleep apnea and my first night's restful sleep was new year's eve. Then Friday night with your help, I took it to a whole new level. Wow, never realized how restful sleep could help! I'm so blessed to have started the new year on such a positive start.

Bless you all there at Operation Homefront. You truly are a brilliant organization.

If there's anything I can do to help/pay it forward, my family is happy to step up.

Thank you, so, so much for all that you do. I finally slept through the night and woke fully refreshed... well, mostly refreshed, they say it takes months for a body to catch up on sleep.

Regards~

Gavin

This note of thanks was sent to the director of one of Villages where we provide free housing to wounded warrior families during their transition to civilian life. This family had just received a package of gifts from Operation Homefront. 

Wow, we have so much to be grateful for this season around.  We will be writing thank you cards to all those including you, for keeping us in mind this Christmas.  If it wasn't for you, Operation Homefront, and others helping us, we wouldn't (have) had much of a Christmas, or New Years to give to our children.  Now we can feel better about the holidays because we have something tangible to give our children (clothing, toys, christmas tree, more food, and the looks on their faces at Christmas, when they open their gifts).  So yes, thank you so much; you really don't know how much this means to us.  I was getting depressed and started thinking of my mother who passed around this time in 1998 Dec 5 of cancer, and my other Uncles who passed soon after. So around this time, I usually just stay home alone, while my wife and children go to my wife's mother's house.... This is really a breakthrough.

I am not saying that I don't miss my mother, and uncles, and that I don't suffer from depression, I am just able to cope with the holidays because of you, Operation Homefront. So here are a million hugs OOOOOOOOO x million and a million kisses XXXXXXXX full of thanks, love, and hope for the future.

Wounded Warrior Family

We received this thank you from a family that recently received a donated car from Operation Homefront. Their existing, and only, vehicle was in poor condition. 

We would like to say Thank You again! The (donated) car is running great! Three days after we got it home the van (their other vehicle) blew the front left tire and, we think, the head gasket. Had it not been for all of your efforts and the Operation Homefront program, we would be without a vehicle and our kids wouldn't have a Christmas to look forward to. Thank you and your team from the bottom of our hearts! I hope you have a very blessed holiday! 

Thank You, Julia

 

This letter of thanks is from a wounded warrior who lives at one of our villages. Operation Homefront established Operation Homefront Villages to help these service members transition back into civilian life. They live rent free while they go through the transition process. 

Hello. I would like to start off with a big "Thank You" to all of the Operation Homefront employees and management from the bottom of my heart. What you guys do here is amazing and has helped my family move forward with the physical and financial hardships we've endured since my injuries. I am proud to say that come December we will be completely credit debt free and out of the hole we got into. The financial advisor that we see every month has helped us learn how to budget (which I NEVER did before) and taught us how important having emergency savings and a financial plan is. Now with all those stressors levitated we have had time to actually plan our future out and continue moving forward instead of being stuck. My wife is joining the Army late February and is going to be an Air Traffic Controller and I will continue school to finish my associates' degree in computer engineering then work on my bachelor's in communication. None of this would have been possible without the help of all of you. So from the entire Family, Thank You for everything!

Sincerely,

 Matthew G. (82nd Airborne Division)

Dear Outback Steakhouse and Operation Homefront,

I just want to thank you for one of the best nights out ever! The experience to see Tim McGraw alone is just awesome. To see him standing 25 feet away at the Pre-Show Party was indescribable. You do not know how much we appreciate that you would think of the military when giving away an opportunity like that!

My husband was actually getting ready to leave once again (just for school) after only being home for a few months from deployment and we hadn't yet had the chance to have a night like that out. You made that possible. The venue was great and the opening bands were awesome. The Pre-Show Party was just as I thought something like that would be. We felt so special. They had free beverages and for once we weren't the people walking by wondering what was going on under the tent. Everyone we saw there from Outback Steakhouse were so nice. It was very easy to get to Will Call and get our tickets. Our seats were great. Just off to the side of the stage down front.

Thank you so much for the experience and for showing us that we do matter and the life we chose to live does make a difference to most people in this country. I am so glad that there are organizations like Operation Homefront that care about our Military and their families.

Sincerely Grateful,
Amber S.

The following letter came from a military family that we assisted at one of our Back-To-School Brigade events in Washington. The mother is currently undergoing chemotherapy to battle cancer.   


Words can't express how grateful I am to you. Thank you for your heart of compassion on Saturday at the Back to School Drive. The school supply items that you were able to offer my family have been such a blessing. It was truly more than what I could have hoped for. I wish you could have seen the faces of my three children as they went through the items within their backpacks. What joy! Usually we are able to be a gift to others through random acts of goodness but, this time the Blesssing came back to us 100-fold. God opened his heart when He sent you our way on that day. I pray that additional families were Blessed just as much as we have been. Again, we thank you and wish you the very best in the future. May you and the Operation Homefront Organization continue to grow and prosper through the years ahead...One Family at a time.

 

Sincerely,
Wanicka

Dear Operation Homefront,

Last month I sent in an application requesting help with car repairs. My car needed a lot of work in order run and pass inspection! I have 3 children and my husband in currently serving in Afghanistan. It is a lot to run a household on your own but almost impossible when you are without transportation! You were kind enough to assist my family with the car repairs and we are now up and mobile. I can get the kids to their camps and I can get to work!

I can’t thank you enough for the work you do and the help you were able to extend to my family.

Thank you Thank you  Thank you!

Lisa

 

To all the people at Operation Homefront THANK YOU!!! THANK YOU!!!! THANK YOU!!!! We can't say it enough for all the help you have given us. Returning home to my wife and kids happy as a man could be.

Expecting to go back to work after leave was over only to find out that there were no work to be had. The money that was saved went fast. Waiting for employment then with the bills due and no real prospects of money coming in, we turned to you.

We were nervous making the phone call asking for help but we was quickly relieved at the response we got from everyone we talked to and the willingness to help. After the application and papers were turned in on a Friday, I received a call on Monday morning saying we had been approved.

It was only a hour later and a Fed-ex truck was at the house handing me a package of gift cards for food. And the next day called the other creditors and they too had been paid also. The weight was lifted off our shoulders. Thank You again from myself and my family.

Hello. My husband is currently deployed in the Navy and we have a beautiful 15-month-old daughter. I just recently discovered your program and website, even though we have been a military family for over 7 years (between the Army and Navy). Fortunately we have been able to get through the tough times that tend to rise in the military life/deployments but it is so nice to know that you are here to help so many families that need help and we can come to you if we are in need of assistance. I'm sure you are extremely busy and I apologize for taking your time away, but I just wanted to say thank you. Thank you for all the wonderful things you are doing for military families. Because the military sends you places far from home and from your family, I feel like you are helping my fellow brothers and sisters...So, thank you. I hope this email, if nothing else, can put a few smiles on your faces, and let you know that you are much appreciated in the military community. I am only one person, but I am sure I am speaking for MANY others.

Sincerely
A Proud Navy Wife!

Below are portions from a letter from Sgt. Steve and Diane Watson. They were given a 2005 Volvo SUV, donated by American Shipping & Logistics (ASL). ASL had asked Operation Homefront to help identify a family in need of a vehicle. The Watsons, who have two special needs children, had a vehicle that was not only too small to carry the whole family, but was very unreliable. Thank you to American Shipping & Logistics for helping this very deserving family!

Both my wife, Diane and I wanted to take this opportunity to express our gratitude for ASL, the donors of the vehicle and everything it will do and has done for us so far. Since then, our sons have been able to be called off the therapy wait list to start therapy for their autism. It was perfect timing for us to get this vehicle and be able to get them to therapy. We can also go out as a family and to Army functions. Before, we had to go one at a time or my wife to one event with two of our kids and vice versa. And that was IF the car would start. We will continue to spread the word about Operation Homefront and the need for donations and how wonderful you company, ASL, has been to us.

It's a lot off my mind to not have to worry about a safe, reliable and suitable vehicle for my wife, Diane and our kids. Our kids, as well as us, LOVE the truck. It is the greatest gift that solved our transportation problems and allowed us to enjoy the holidays this year out in the community as a family. From the bottom of our hearts, Thank You for all you've done and know that your company was a HUGE help in the success of our journey to austism recovery because, without this vehicle, therapy wouldn't have been possible.

Very respectfully yours,

SGT. Steven and Diane Watson

Below is just a sampling of the thank you messages we receive on our Facebook site. The thanks goes to you, our supporters, who generously donate to Operation Homefront so we can help needy military families and wounded warriors. Join Operation Homefront on Facebook. Or if you are already a fan, suggest us to your friends by going to our page, and click “Suggest to Friends” under our logo on the upper left side.  

 

"Hello- I just wanted to tell everyone at Operation Homefront thank you for all you have done to help me and my family! This is such a great program and you really came through for me and my family in a time of need. I really REALLY appreciate it and hope that sometime in the future I will be able to be a part of a program as great as this! Keep up the great work! Thank you thank you thank you!!!!" - Paige

"Thank you Operation Homefront for taking away the burden of the Holidays and making it better than I ever could've imagined. All the gifts that will be under our tree on Christmas Day wouldn't be there without you. I can't express my gratitude enough, so I'll just keep on Serving." – Derek 

"I just have to say, Operation Homefront is amazing. We were lucky enough to get in on their Holiday Meals for Military program. We'll actually be able to have a nice meal (or day of meals!) on Christmas. :) Between Gavin being home on leave most the month and the kids being on winter break now it's pretty much doubled our food costs for the month. This was such a blessing and couldn’t have come at a better time." – Elsa 

"I finally had time to go through my meal bag from you guys just a few minutes ago. Thank you so much! Everything is much appreciated and we're looking forward to a wonderful meal because of y'all!" – Miranda 

"Thank you to your organization. I just picked up my families Christmas dinner package. It is so awesome. There is so much in there and just want you guys to know how thankful we are for receiving it." - Lisa 

This note was received by our Tennessee/Kentucky chapter after a military family was selected to receive a Thanksgiving basket recently.

I just wanted to take the time to Thank You, from the bottom of my heart...Thank You! 

I had been trying to locate a program that could help our family out in this great time of need, but had been unsuccessful until I found Operation Homefront!

We had been (and actually still are) struggling with food, bills and now the upcoming holidays that the stress was making my blood pressure go up, complicating my already complicated pregnancy even worse!  So just wanted to let you know that you TRULY are an angel from God!  Without your help, our family would have had no food this month and DEFINITELY would not have had a Thanksgiving dinner....it was already depressing enough to know that we will not be having Christmas...let alone Thanksgiving too...

We had sold everything that we could...furniture, electronics, toys, clothes...you name it....JUST to get by...so I hope that this email will let you know just how important you and your company are....again, THANK YOU and keep up the GREAT work...it gives people and families like ours HOPE.

Sincerely,

Jasmine 

I cried for 2 hours straight (1 hour of that while driving!). It had been SO long since anyone had cared like that other than my own mother. The most any organization has offered to ME is a logo'd t-shirt.

All of us who have sat down with other organizations know how it feels to sit down at a table to discuss your needs and have someone turn to you and say, "Thank you for coming" and then turn to your beloved veteran and go on and on and on about how he has given up everything in his service to America, sacrificed his dreams and goals because of his injuries/PTSD/TBI, etc etc etc.

Ummm....I gave up MY life because of his service too. Instead of running off into the night and divorcing him I sacrificed my goals and dreams for HIS wounds. He didn't have the choice. I CHOSE to stay.

I didn't even want to open this box when it arrived, assuming it was another logo'd tshirt...lol When I did, DH was sitting there and I sat and cried as I pawed through the box. We were supposed to be leaving to go to a dr's appointment but it took me over an hour to calm down enough to be able to drive. Tears rolled down my face at random times for the next week or more when I thought of the kindness and generosity behind that pretty ribbon. They still do.

I can't thank those who organized this enough. I truly can't. Thank you, from the very bottom of my heart.

~ Heather
Wife of a Wounded Warrior

 I woke up Friday morning with a raspy voice, a ringing in my ears, & mascara smudged halfway down my cheeks. But it was worth it. So, so worth it. Tim McGraw's performance in Charleston on Thursday, May 13, was a highlight among highlights in my last year & more than made up for the concert we missed last July!

We arrived at the Coliseum right around 5:30, when my chivalrous husband dropped me off to pick up the tickets at the Will Call window while he navigated the parking zoo. Getting our tickets was quick & painless, & within minutes Patrick Knight, the Outback representative on the Southern Voice tour, was leading us into the back stage pre-show party area. We immediately felt like VIP's when we were served plates coming in the door with gigantic, juicy shrimp, Outback's famous ribs, & coleslaw with snazzy little silver forks. We scarfed it in a very undignified manner so we could get ourselves in good position to see Tim on the stage when he came out to play our intimate, VIP-encounter songs. I must say without hesitation that when Patrick Knight came over to introduce himself & to repeatedly thank us, especially my husband, for his service, the faces on the people around us - the "Who ARE these important people?" was the most unexpected part of the experience. Patrick is an excellent face for Outback - personable, approachable, & easy-going. We quickly found common ground & talked about our families, children, & backgrounds until literally the last minute before the Dancehall Doctors took the stage.

We wound up only four people away from the stage, & I've never so much appreciated being tall as I did when it afforded me an excellent view of Tim & the Dancehall Doctors over the heads of those people in front of me! Tim is very approachable & down to earth & really engaged the VIP audience during his three-song set & his Q&A. Well, he engaged the audience members who weren't standing, star-struck, with our teeth in our mouths. Sadly, the pre-show party ended too soon, & we all shuffled off to the main event. Our seats were good - not floor seats, but definitely an uncompromised view. The rest of the night passed in a blur, really. Love & Theft rocked the house, Lady Antebellum was every bit as melodic in live performance as they are in the studio, & then - well, then, there was Tim. The energy of Tim McGraw & his band in concert is uncompromised. He effortlessly slides from high energy, old-country-style anthems to soulful ballads that had me snuggling up to my husband. His acoustic version of Alabama's "Feels So Right" was possibly one of my favorite combinations of the classic country of my early childhood & the smooth charm that personifies Tim McGraw.

The concert ended on the inspiring note of "Live Like You Were Dyin'", a heartfelt tribute to Tim's late father, & an excellent sentiment to keep in mind in this life. We're not guaranteed tomorrow, so we need to make the most of each day. And we certainly made the most of the once-in-a-lifetime experience afforded to us by Operation Homefront & Outback Steakhouse. If any day was a gift, Thursday was truly it.

Thank you again for the privilege of this experience. If there's anything further I can do to contribute to Operation Homefront or Outback Steakhouse about this experience, I'd be more than happy.

Barbara

Jeff,
The concert was absolutely amazing. My wife and I have not been out together in a very long time. We have three small children at home and don't get a chance to get out together very often. It was really nice to be able to show up and not have to worry about anything. The seats we had were in the front row of the section we were in and we were able to see the concert the whole time. We had such an amazing time. I would definitely say that this program is a great thing for soldiers and their spouses after a deployment. If it wasnt for Operation Homefront we would never have had the chance to experience that. Thank you and we appreciate everything you have done for us.

V/R,
SGT Michael

Jeff,
My wife and I just wanted to thank you and Operation Homefront for the great tickets to the Tim McGraw concert! We love what your organization does for the military community and we greatly appreciate it. Once again thank you very much.

Leon

I want to thank all of you at Operation Homefront for the tickets you gave me and my friend to attend the Tim McGraw Concert. We had a spectacular time. The Pre-Show Party was totally amazing. Being able to see Tim in a more intimate setting exceeded our wildest dreams. Thanks again for all you do and your support for our troops.

Charlotte, USN

To Whom it May Concern:
It has been brought to my attention that Operation Homefront is honoring caregivers in conjunction with wounded warrior wives and Wal-Mart. I would like to start out by saying thank you for taking the time to honor those who help us wounded warriors make it through the tough times and provide us with the support and love to make it through each day. I would like to put my wife Carina in for one of the purple boxes as a token of my love for all that she has done for me and my fellow wounded warriors, but most of all I would like her to know that there are organizations out there that understand her struggles with supporting a wounded warrior and sticking with him and being the backbone of the family. Carina has been my support through my Medical retirement, surgeries, appointments, and suffering. She has been a wonderful mother to our three children and a supportive wife who motivates me through the healing process. Thank you for taking the time to honor these wonderful women who never complain or ask for any recognition. Thank you for honoring these women who love us wounded warriors. I truly appreciate your support.

V/r,
(NAME REMOVED)
USA, CPT(ret.)
Wounded Warrior

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