[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 6]
[House]
[Pages 7574-7575]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




  URGING AMERICANS TO PARTICIPATE IN THE ``E-MAIL OUR TROOPS'' PROJECT

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from New York (Mr. Israel) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. ISRAEL. Mr. Speaker, tonight I rise to urge my colleagues to 
participate in the E-mail Our Troops Project, a vitally important 
endeavor that is good for our military personnel and also good for our 
children.
  This program allows people to send e-mail messages to men and women 
serving in very dangerous places around the world. It boosts the morale 
of our service members, it alleviates their loneliness, but it is also 
very helpful to children in particular.
  For young children, news of war can be overpowering. It can leave 
them with a sense that they are not connected, they have no control; 
frightening news controls them. Giving them an e-mail connection to our 
Armed Forces is one way of creating a positive connection, letting them 
voice an opinion, ask a question.
  Mr. Speaker, I learned that just yesterday when I visited the J. 
Taylor Finley Middle School in Huntington. I went there to talk to the 
youngsters about their opinions on what is happening in Iraq and to 
teach them how to e-mail our troops. I would like to share with my 
colleagues and with the country some of the messages that these young 
men and women sent to other young men and women who are fighting for 
our freedom.
  Mario from the Taylor Finley Middle School wrote, ``Hi! My name is 
Mario; and I want to tell you that, in my opinion, you are going to be 
fine because people will and are praying for you.''
  Becca wrote, ``Dear serviceperson. My name is Becca, and I am a 12 
year old student at Finley Middle School. I am writing to you to say 
how much I am thinking about you. Our country is so grateful to have 
people like you fighting for America. You must be truly brave.''
  Tori wrote, ``Hi! How are you? Is it hard to be so far away from your 
family? Do you miss them? I can't thank you enough for what you are 
doing. I hope you get back safely.''
  Madeleine and Shannon wrote, ``Dear American, thank you for defending 
our country. We hope you are safe and well. You are very important to 
us. It must be hard to leave your family for so long. Your decision to 
help the effort is so commendable. We hope you come back soon.''
  Mr. Speaker, Jenny wrote, ``Hello, I just wanted to say that myself 
and many other people are thinking of you. We are thinking very often 
of you during the day and how much you are doing for this country. We 
are so proud of you.''
  And Megan wrote, ``Dear Friend, I just want to say that I am very 
proud of you and I support you. Thank you so much for putting your life 
on the line to protect the rights of others in this country and in 
Iraq. We all believe in

[[Page 7575]]

you and hope that you will return very soon.''
  Lauren-Taylor wrote, ``I don't want this to be another letter that 
says 'thank you' over and over. I want to tell you that I truly feel 
that you are giving this ultimate gift to people that you don't even 
know. The fact that you love your country and fellow Americans so much 
is incredible. You are showing this in great fashion. Please know that 
even if we don't support this war, we support you.''
  And Tara e-mailed, ``Dear American, thank you so much for what you 
have done for our country. I really appreciate what you are doing. You 
are so brave to risk your own life for us. You are so brave and 
courageous. I hope you are proud, because I know I am.''
  Mr. Speaker, just one more.
  Daniella wrote, ``Dear Navy soldiers, I wanted to tell you thanks for 
being our hero, representing our country. Thanks for everything you 
have done. It is amazing. Thanks for fighting for peace in the United 
States. Thank you so much for everything, and thanks for being our 
hero.''
  Mr. Speaker, when I visited this school yesterday, I learned that our 
young children, who have the same opinions that many of their parents 
do and many Members of Congress do, have a vitally important 
opportunity, despite those opinions, to show what counts, and that is 
support for our troops. These young students at the Finley Middle 
School had the opportunity not only to show that support but also to 
give expression to their feelings, to ask some questions; and, 
ultimately, I hope that that gave them a sense that they can engage in 
the great issues of our time, that they can venture an opinion, that 
that opinion counts, and that they can give some solace and some 
comfort to people who are fighting for their future in far away and 
dangerous places.
  I want to thank the teachers, the administrators, and the students of 
that school; and I want to thank the people that they sent e-mails to 
just yesterday.

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