[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 4]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 5620]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




               HONORING THE VALENTINES FOR TROOPS PROGRAM

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                       HON. CHRISTOPHER S. MURPHY

                             of connecticut

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, April 25, 2012

  Mr. MURPHY of Connecticut. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the 
students and adults involved in the Valentines for Troops program in 
Connecticut and around the nation. The students involved in this 
program wrote over 4,000 letters for our servicemembers this year.
  This program seeks to give thanks to the most deserving among us, the 
men and women of our Armed Forces. Donna Monteleone Randle, a former 
captain in the Army Signal Corps, serves as the chairperson of 
Valentines for Troops in Newtown, Connecticut and helps the 
organization send letters from the students to the servicemembers 
overseas.
  The participants in the Valentines for Troops program are doing a 
fabulous job of showing their support and admiration to those who need 
it the most.
  This program was started by a second grade student at Sandy Hook 
Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, in 2006. That first year 
there were 50 letters written by students at the school, and since then 
the popularity of the program has increased tremendously. Schools and 
organizations from Trumbull, Monroe, Bethel, Fairfield, and Danbury 
have joined Newtown in this program. There has been a great deal of 
national interest in the program this year as well. There are clubs, 
groups, churches, senior centers, professional offices, and schools 
from such diverse locations as Colorado, Ohio, Illinois, Wisconsin, 
Texas, and New York City lending their support to the program.
  I conducted a similar program called Holiday Cards for Heroes this 
holiday season. School children in northwestern Connecticut made 
hundreds of cards for veterans staying in the Department of Veterans 
Affairs Medical Center and the State of Connecticut Veterans' Home in 
Rocky Hill. So I know what these small tokens of appreciation can do to 
lift the spirits of a veteran.
  Mr. Speaker, I believe that we can all agree that the Valentines for 
Troops program deserves recognition for their efforts to show the 
admiration that this nation has for its troops. I ask that my 
colleagues join me in celebrating the Valentines for Troops program for 
the service it provides to the men and women of our Armed Services.

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