BY KATHY RUDOLPH
K
risten Holloway Querriera didn’t know
anyone serving in the military when
the Iraq War started in March 2003. “I
remember everyone feeling very patriotic and
emotions were high,” she says. “I saw a lot of
American flags and yellow ribbon bumper
stickers on cars.”
About a year later, Querriera was working
at PPG Industries when a colleague’s brother
was deployed to Iraq. He and the other
37 National Guard soldiers in his platoon
were from Pittsburgh. She wanted to send
something to him and his troop and asked
what they needed.
“I thought he’d say beef jerky and
ChapStick,” laughs Querriera. “He said that
they would really like Under Armour shirts.”
Experiencing sticker shock when she saw
the shirts were $25 each, she asked friends
and famil