OPERATION GRATITUDE NEWS ! 600,000th PACKAGE REACHES THE TROOPS...

General James Amos, 35th Commandant of the Marine Corps, Brings Milestone Package to Afghanistan Encino, CA--January 6, 2011:  Operation Gratitude today revealed that the organization's 600,000th Care Package, containing the keys to a Victory Vegas 8-Ball Motorcycle, was personally delivered on Christmas Day by Marine Corps Commandant, General James Amos, to a Lance Corporal deployed in the Sangin District of Helmand Province, Afghanistan.  The Lance Corporal, whose name will be revealed upon his return to the United States, is an infantryman with the 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines (3/5), also known as the "Dark Horse Battalion."                             Lt. Colonel Jason Morris, Battalion Commander;  General James Amos, 35th Commandant of the Marine Corps Photo Courtesy of Combat Camera "I received a phone call from a very happy young Marine on Christmas Day," exclaimed Carolyn Blashek, Operation Gratitude founder.  "He said: 'Your package means the world to me. I appreciate everybody who put something in that care package and everybody back home.  And I thank you for your love and support, as do all the other Marines who received packages from y'all.  Have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.'" Ten days earlier, Blashek had flown to Washington DC to meet General Amos, who, upon learning the recipient was a Marine with the 3/5, had offered to deliver the 600,000th Care Package during his trip to Afghanistan.  The Commandant met with more than 12,000 of the 20,000 Marines deployed in Afghanistan during the ten day trip.  While visiting with the "Dark Horse" Marines in Sangin on Christmas Day, he presented Operation Gratitude's milestone care package. Lance Corporal reads letter from Victory Motorcycles Photo Courtesy of Combat Camera "We were outside in the  cold night air; about 200 Marines had just finished their Christmas meal. All of the senior leadership in the Battalion were present," wrote General Amos.  "The Battalion Commander called [the Lance Corporal] up in front of everyone and I gave him the package. He read  your letter to everyone before he figured out what the gift was. Then he read the second letter from Victory and was handed a picture of the bike...that did the lad in. He was crying and his fellow Marines were cheering. I don't think that it could have gone any better."  General Amos added:  "God bless the many faithful Operation Gratitude volunteers for what they have done...over 600,000 times!!  My hearty thanks to all!"   The Victory Motorcycle will be presented to the Lance Corporal when the Battalion returns to Camp Pendleton in the Spring of 2011. "Victory is always looking for meaningful ways to thank those serving in the military and our veterans," said Victory Motorcycles General Manager Steve Menneto. "The opportunity to partner with Operation Gratitude and donate one of our motorcycles to the organization's 600,000th care package means a lot to our company. We encourage everyone to continue finding ways to thank our troops for all they sacrifice in service to our country." The 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines, deployed in Sangin since late September, 2010, have faced an extremely dangerous and challenging operational environment, sustaining numerous casualties.  According to Lt. Colonel Jason Morris, the Battalion Commander, significant progress has been made in fracturing the enemy while providing humanitarian aid to the local populace. "We hope our Milestone package, along with the approximately 1000 regular packages sent during our Holiday Drive, brought good cheer to the 3/5 Marines during this difficult time away from loved ones," said Blashek.  "We look forward to welcoming home each of the Marines in the Spring and personally thanking them and their families for their courageous service to our nation and the cause of freedom."                       L to R: Sgt. Major Carlton Kent, the Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps; Lt. Colonel Jason Morris, Battalion Commander; Lance Corporal; General James Amos, 35th Commandant Photo Courtesy of Combat Camera Operation Gratitude, a non-profit, volunteer-based organization, shipped more than 45,000 individually addressed care packages during the holidays and plans to send another five thousand or more before the Spring.  The group's Patriotic Drive will start in late April and run through June, sending an additional 40-50,000 care packages to Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Coast Guard and Marines deployed in harm's way.

About Operation Gratitude Operation Gratitude annually sends 100,000+ care packages filled with snacks, entertainment items and personal letters of appreciation addressed to individually named U.S. Service Members deployed in harm's way. The organization's mission is to lift morale, bring a smile to a service member's face and express to our Armed Forces the appreciation and support of the American people. Each package contains donated product valued at ~$125 and costs the organization $15 to assemble and ship. For safety and security, assembling of packages occurs at the Army National Guard armory in Van Nuys, California. Since its inception in 2003, Operation Gratitude volunteers have shipped more than 600,000 packages to American Military deployed overseas.   Learn more about Operation Gratitude by visiting: Web:          http://www.OperationGratitude.com Twitter:     http://www.twitter.com/OpGratitude Facebook:  http://www.facebook.com/OperationGratitude Blog:          http://OpGrat.wordpress.com YouTube:   http://www.youtube.com/OpGrat   Email:        opgrat@gmail.com  About Polaris  Victory Motorcycles (www.victorymotorcycles.com) is a division of Polaris (NYSE:PII). With annual 2009 sales of $1.6 billion, Polaris designs, engineers, manufactures and markets off-road vehicles (ORVs), including all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) and the Polaris RANGER™, snowmobiles and Victory motorcycles for recreational and utility use and has recently introduced a new on-road electric powered neighborhood vehicle. Polaris is a recognized leader in the snowmobile industry; and one of the largest manufacturers of ORVs in the world. Victory motorcycles established in 1998 and representing the first all-new American-made motorcycle from a major company in nearly 60 years, are rapidly making impressive in-roads into the cruiser and touring motorcycle marketplace. Polaris also enhances the riding experience with a complete line of Pure Polaris apparel, accessories and parts, available at Polaris dealerships. Polaris Industries Inc. trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "PII," and the Company is included in the S&P MidCap 400 stock price index. Information about the complete line of Polaris products, apparel and vehicle accessories are available from authorized Polaris dealers or anytime from the Polaris homepage at www.polarisindustries.com.

Vote Today or I'll Sell This Cheerleader to an Oil Sheik to Make Up The Difference!

Operation Gratitude Funding Contest

Rain and Gratitude...

1200 people showed up in spite of a three day rainstorm to assemble care packages for the troops.  Operation Gratitude will ship its 500,000th package this coming weekend, Saturday, December 19th. Help them.

Operation Gratitude Care Package Weekend! November 14th, 2009!

Over 1000 volunteers turned up to prepare nearly 9000 packages for the troops!  
Church groups, corporate sponsors, Knights of Columbus, Scouts, school groups... 
everybody you never knew existed in Los Angeles!

Target gave OG a $250,000 check on the spot. Thank them at the 

cash register!

LA Laker Girls at Operation Gratitude!

Several members of the Los Angeles Lakers organization showed up last Sunday for the Operation Gratitude boxing and shipping session...

...along with a couple of tall skinny guys who were something to do with the team...

...and Laker Girls. Did I mention there were Laker Girls?

I asked these Laker Girls if they could talk to the front office about all those tall skinny guys on the court who kept blocking the view of the dancers. We smiled, we laughed, they called security... it was a thing, we had a thing, y'know?

Here's a Laker Girl with the troops' biggest cheerleader, Caroline B. of Operation Gratitude...

This is not a Laker Girl or point guard, but she is wearing a stylish Operation Gratitude T-shirt, available from the Operation Gratitude store! Proceeds send more packages to the troops!

And there was food...

Operation Gratitude Care Package Weekend!

It's hard to describe what an incredible, well, operation Operation Gratitude is. It started in a California woman's living room and today it is so large the Post Office has assigned it its own zip code.

They went from scraping to fill a few cartons a month to the point where this December they will ship their 500,000th package.

They're a registered, fully deductible charity. NO ONE makes a penny off it. EVERYONE involved is a volunteer.

It's a totally apolitical group; they're not interested in politics, just in reminding the deployed troops that they are not forgotten. Check out their site to see what you can do to get involved.

A Rule 5 Restaurant? Can Such a Marvel Truly Be?

"These are the days of miracles and wonderments..." Art Garfunkel

After the arrival of the Vietnam Rolling Memorial Wall, the reception party from the American Legion and Operation Gratitude went to Buca de Beppo, a popular Italian restaurant on Ventura Boulevard in Encino CA.

At first the decor looks like typical Italian tchotchkes, if "typical" is defined as including a picture of John Belushi in drag peeling potatoes (I suspect I've just horribly offended someone's grandmother):

But then things took a turn for the wonderful.

It starts with the Papal Gazebo: literally, a circular alcove in the middle of the restaurant, its walls decorated with Vatican and Papal portraits and sculpture, with a bust of the current Pope Benedict XVI set on a sort of lazy-susan in the middle of the dining table, rotating to keep Rome's eye on the diners:

But then you turn around, I mean you literally just turn around, and

Buongiorno, Bella Sophia!

Yes, it's the official Sophia Loren Wall of Pulchritude, three feet from the Vatican West! This is why I think I'd like Italy. They know there's a huge gap between the sacred and profane, but somewhere deep in their excitable little hearts they just don't care.


Incidentally, the food was terrific and the portions were huge!

Sadly, I hear that even Italy may be succumbing to the EUrodulls. Maybe I should start saving up for that trip to Rome and the Amalfi Coast before they end up looking like fookin' Bruges...

Help Send Care Packages to Our Troops!

With over 430,000 sent so far, they need your help to send 

more!  Read on for how!
 "On Thu, 5/14/09, Operation Gratitude <opgrat@gmail.com> wrote:

From: Operation Gratitude  subject: The Battle is Heating Up To: brieventures@yahoo.com Date: Thursday, May 14, 2009, 2:16 AM Having trouble viewing this email? Click here   The Battle is Heating Up -- We  Need Reinforcements!   SPREAD THE WORD -  GET OUT THE VOTE     ...for  Operation Gratitude on  Facebook! Our Corporate Sponsor, Target, selected Operation Gratitude as  1 of 10 Charities to participate in their Bullseye Gives contest  to receive a portion of $3 Million.  YOUR votes will determine how  much money we receive! All you need to do is VOTE for Operation  Gratitude every 24 hours from Now through May 25!   Operation Gratitude does not rely on paid advertising, mailing lists  or hired staff--We count on YOU--Our dedicated and patriotic  supporters--to get the job done.   We need to get our grass-roots in gear NOW and kick butt  our own way: with consistent voting and word-of-mouth  publicity.  WE CAN DO IT!   Our vote tally has slipped to only 8%--our Troops in harm's way  deserve better than that!  Let's get voting now!  If we hit 15%, Target  will pay for all 40,000 care packages we send during the current  Patriotic Drive: that's  $450,000! EVERY VOTE COULD SEND ANOTHER  CARE PACKAGE!!   We need all Operation Gratitude Facebook  fans, supporters, volunteers, donors, care package  recipients, friends, family, and colleagues to vote for  Operation Gratitude on Facebook!   (see below for voting info)    For 12 more days, through May 25, every person can vote  once every 24 hours for Operation Gratitude.  The more votes  we get, the more money we will receive.  It's that simple!  SPREAD THE WORD - GET OUT THE VOTE                 ...for Operation Gratitude on Facebook!  Invite all your Facebook  Friends to VOTE too!   Become a Fan of Target and post comments  on the Target Wall--tell the world of your  respect for our Military and for Operation  Gratitude.  Let them know why it is so  important to keep sending our care packages!   Invite them to put a smile on a service  member's face with every vote cast!    All votes and dollars allocated are updated  in real time on the Target Facebook page so you  can see how we are doing at all times.  The final  donation to each charity will be announced on  May 26. That's it! Vote every day through May 25  and tell ALL your  friends to VOTE too!!  We need to keep up the pressure--this is a  Marathon...we need to vote every day, and remind others  every day.  Every vote every day makes a difference! Here's how to vote:* 1. Click on this link: Bullseye Gives or click here:   (If you receive this email at work and are unable to access  Facebook, please forward this email to your personal email  account.) 2. If you are already a member of Facebook, you will be  prompted to log-in.  Once logged in, VOTE for Operation  Gratitude!   3. If  you are not yet a member of Facebook:     a. Click on the green sign-up button in the upper left  corner and complete the sign up form with your name, email address, ** a birthdate and a secret password.       b. Once your account is created, click again on this link:  Bullseye Gives -VOTE   4. Return to the Bullseye Gives page every day through  May 25 to vote each day!   *For technical assistance, please email Robert Bender at:  ozarkrwb@pacbell.net   **Facebook only allows one member per email address.  In order  for every person in your household to be able to vote for Operation  Gratitude, each person needs their own email address and then their  own Facebook account.  Multiple email addresses are free through  providers such as AOL,  Yahoo, Gmail. Remember: Our men and women in uniform put  their lives on the line every day to preserve our  freedom TO VOTE!  You can thank them right  now with YOUR VOTE! Love, Operation Gratitude Note from Richard McEnroe:  As of right now, voters have guaranteed Operation Gratitude over $200,000 in Target donations!  Keep it up!