By JOSEPH KELLARD
The Dee¹s family has been flooded with e-mails, letters, cards and phone calls expressing similar sentiments from American troops in Iraq, Afghanistan, Kuwait and Bahrain who received the 1,000 Christmas trees that the nursery and others sent to them during the holiday season.
³Most of them were thank-yous,² Adel Dee, wife of owner Tom Dee, said about the many responses they have received. ³They were so grateful to get the trees and gifts.²
USMC Cpt. Kathy Miller sent a photo of herself standing beside a Christmas tree set up at her base in Fallujah with a card that read, ³Thank you so much for your thoughtful gesture of shipping real Christmas trees to the troops in Iraq. It was such an unexpected & pleasant surprise for all of us.²
From their parking lot, Dee¹s, James Adelis Sr. ‹ a Dee¹s regular from East Rockaway who owns Adelis Securities at Kennedy Airport ‹ and the shipping service DHL sent the trees and various other donations to the airport to be flown overseas on Dec. 6. They and other area businesses, organizations and private citizens donated crate-loads of boxes packed with items ranging from baked goods to Christmas lights, ornaments and menorahs to bulletproof vests. Students from East Rockaway, Oceanside and other local schools sent the troops words of praise and appreciation in homemade holiday cards and letters.
The Dees learned from the e-mails and letters that, beside being set up in bases across the Middle East, their trees appeared in such unusual places as one of Saddam Hussein¹s former palaces, where the tree was topped not by a star but a soldier¹s combat helmet, and on a Navy ship at sea.
³There was also a unit from Kansas City that received some trees, and thought that since they were being shipped from New York, they were only supposed to go to troops from our state,² Adel laughed. ³They wrote that they hoped we didn¹t mind, and we wrote back that they were for everyone, and that we were happy they were enjoying them.²
Among the troops surprised by the trees was Cory Grabenbaur, an operations officer for the Army Field Support Operations Office in Anaconda, Iraq. And it was his e-mail in particular that struck Tom Dee. ³It means a lot to know people are thinking of us and haven¹t forgotten,² Grabenbaur wrote. ³To be honest, we start to wonder sometimes what people are thinking when we watch the broadcast media from back home. Everything seems so negative. It was surprising because we see all the good things we are doing over here. To be sure, there is some violence. But the vast majority of the country is moving forward and getting better. ... In my mind, people like you are what make America great and make it worth fighting for.²
The otherwise media-shy Tom Dee sent this letter to a few newspapers, including the Daily News and the Ellsworth American in Maine, where the Dees¹ tree farm is located. But for reasons not exactly known to the Dees and to their dismay, the letter was never published.
Meanwhile, Reader¹s Digest picked up on what the Dees, Adelis and DHL were doing. An article published in RD¹s December 2005 issue, inspired several Americans to write the Dees, asking how they could assist their effort or soliciting for trees for their loved ones overseas.
One Reader¹s Digest reader, A.G. Peplinski of Custer, Wis., wrote, ³Our son arrived in Kuwait 11/8/05. They¹re a unit from Wisconsin and accustomed to snow, cold ‹ and trees. Their camp is a sandlot, actually, a sand ocean ‹ sand as far as the eye can see. Is there any possibility that you could ship some of your trees to them?²
Other readers let the Dees know how much their donations meant to their loved ones overseas last year, after the nursery sent 200 trees to Adelis¹s son, Specialist James Adelis Jr. of the 77th Regional Readiness Command, stationed in Camp Anaconda, for his unit and others in Iraq.
Diana Fraker of Jacksonville, N.C., whose husband was deployed to Iraq, e-mailed the Dees about how much it meant to military wives like her ³that our husbands will still be able to stand in front of a tree and have that wonderful smell of freshness. I know it will brighten things for them, and just the thought of it brightens things here for me.²
The Dees laminated a letter from Al and Marie Palmieri of Long Beach, who wrote that their son, Al, of the Army¹s 4th Infantry Division, left for his second tour in Iraq Dec. 8, and that during the Christmas season of his first tour ³reminders from home meant everything to the troops.² The Palmieris described how their ³hearts are near to breaking at the thought of him going back there, but we were very proud of his service to our country. The time of year is doubly hard. I keep picturing him there at Christmas and it hurts so much. You have made the holidays bearable for us by your generosity.²
The Dees plan to make a collage of the troops¹ letters, e-mails, cards and photos to frame and post at the nursery¹s front doors, ³because a lot of people are asking about them,² Adel said. The Dees said that they undertook this effort to lift the troops¹ spirits, and to judge by the responses they¹ve received, their mission was accomplished.
³We want them to know that there are other people who care about them, love them and want them back safe,² Adel said. ³I¹m sure that¹s a morale booster to them.²
* The following e-mail, from an American soldier in Iraq, was sent to an employee of the shipping service DHL, and relayed to Dee¹s Nursery.
To Anne,
Your package and the trees (yes, six of them to be exact!) arrived at my unit today. I wanted to immediately let you know how much they are appreciated. I have not opened the package yet but I wanted to thank you very much for sending it. It means a lot to know people are thinking of us and haven¹t forgotten. To be honest, we start to wonder sometimes what people are thinking when we watch the broadcast media from back home. Everything seems so negative. It is surprising because we see all the good things we are doing over here. To be sure, there is some violence. But the vast majority of the country is moving forward and getting better. Despite the daily threats and attacks from the insurgents, ordinary Iraqis are rebuilding their country and improving their lives. I am amazed at their courage and resilience. And the soldiers here ‹ we know we are making a positive difference because of what we see and because of what the local people tell us. It¹s curious that CNN, CBS etc. don¹t have stories about that.
We are going to put up one of these trees in our [headquarters] where I work. We are going to take several others over to the Air Force hospital on our base. This is the main trauma hospital in Iraq where nearly all service members with serious injuries are first taken. After they are stabilized, they are then flown to Germany and/or the U.S. I know they will be extremely happy to have a real tree. The cards from the children will also be taken over there to give to the injured Soldiers/Marines/Airmen ‹ many of them don¹t get mail because their units are on different posts.
We will take the remaining one or two trees over to the ³convoy escort² companies on our post. These are the Soldiers and Airmen who provided security for the trucks on the roads. They face ambushes and IEDs every day. I know these items will be a big hit with everyone.
Please tell everyone connected to this effort how grateful we are for their kindness and generosity. In my mind, people like you are what make America great and make it worth fighting for.
God Bless all of you, and grant you a safe and peaceful Christmas.
Sincerely,
CPT Cory Grabenbaur
Support Operations Officer
Army Field Support Battalion
LSA Anaconda, Balad, Iraq
Comments about this story? JKellard@liherald.com or 516-569-4000 ext. 287.
