Above, the smiles on soldiers’ faces tell it all. They received a Christmas tree complete with lights from Moms on a Mission. Below, Marshall County soldier Aaron Smelzer shows
off his Christmas tree with ornaments made by area school childen.
Blackmore called her after the festival
and she joined the cause.
“I can’t tell you how much these
packages and gestures mean to the
solders,” said Gallagher. “They tell you
when they get home what it meant
and how grateful they are.”
Having three children in the military at once has been rough, said Gallagher, but the Moms on a Mission activities have kept her occupied. Right
now, her children are stateside but
that can change in a moment.
“If you haven’t had a family member in hostile territory, it’s hard to
understand the emotions,” said Gallagher. “The moms do understand each
other in a special way.”
Members of the group say that
without the persistence and cando attitude of Blackmore, the group
would have never gotten off the
ground or stayed together.
“She’s just tenacious,” said Gal-
26
24
lagher. “She has such a big heart for
these soldiers.”
At one time, Blackmore and her
group of moms were attending to the
needs of 23 deployed soldiers. Now,
there is just one that they know of
and that one soldier is not forgotten.
The moms still send packages to soldiers that are stateside or stationed
in non-hostile territory because they
couldn’t just stop supporting the
soldiers based on deployment, said
Blackmore.
So, on a chilly Tuesday night in
April, Blackmore and Wakham and
Davis gathered in Blackmore’s garage
to box up Girl Scout cookies. They have
this down to a science. They know exactly how many boxes of cookies will
fit and clever ways to get more in the
box. They make sure each soldier gets
a diverse flavor package and they even
know when a soldier just loves mint
cookies more than peanut butter.
Come goat festival this year, the ladies will
once again have their trusted popcorn machine
fired up for a great cause. You can stop by and
say thanks to the moms on this mission as they
have represented Marshall County well and
brought a taste of home to dozens of soldiers in
harm’s way.