Severely wounded troops need help to put Easter dinner on the table

I understand you support patriotic causes. That's why I hope you'll make a generous, tax-deductible donation to the Emergency Easter Meal Project, sponsored by the Coalition to Salute America's Heroes.

We want to rush $60 to as many severely wounded troops as possible to help them put an Easter dinner with all the trimmings on the table for their families.

You can also send an Easter THANK YOU and GET WELL card to cheer up a disabled soldier, Marine, sailor or airman (or other military veteran) to show him or her your patriotic support this Easter.

My name is Major General John K. Singlaub, U.S. Army (Ret.), and I served during three wars. Today I'm working with the Coalition to Salute America's Heroes, which provides emergency financial aid for our troops severely wounded in Iraq or Afghanistan.

Through the generosity of patriotic Americans just like you, the Coalition has responded with emergency financial aid and other assistance to more than 25,000 cases involving our severely wounded troops and their families. Along the way we have dedicated more than $24 million in emergency financial aid and other support services to help them on their road to recovery.

As Easter approaches, can I count on you to make a generous donation to the Coalition's Emergency Easter Meal Project?

Because of the sluggish government bureaucracy, and as reported by the U.S. Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs, severely wounded troops are waiting MORE THAN A YEAR, on average, to receive their first disability check after being released from the hospital and separated from service.

Their family income plummets. And suddenly they are unable to put food on the table or pay the rent.

The Coalition's Emergency Easter Meal Project will be helping disabled servicemen and women like these:

• Retired Marine Sgt. Christopher Murphy of Pennsylvania, who was injured by a roadside bomb Iraq and says paying for "rent, food and car payments will be extremely difficult."
• Retired Army Sgt. Blair Didion, who suffered multiple spinal fractures from a roadside bomb in Iraq, says he sometimes relies on "food from public pantries" to help feed his family.
  
• Retired Marine Sgt. Joshua Alvarez, who has a steel spine implant after rolling over a land mine in Iraq, tells the Coalition, "We are always short on food."

Easter is the perfect time to thank these disabled heroes for the painful sacrifices they've made. After all, these brave men and women went to war to protect our freedom.

Now some will never be able to see, or hear, or use their arms or legs again after being hit by a roadside bomb. And their wives and children will spend the rest of their lives suffering right alongside them.

You and I can't heal their physical injuries or make them whole again. (No one can.)

But by helping to provide them with an Easter meal, you can help lift a financial burden from their shoulders and make sure they enjoy their Easter weekend with their families.

Look at the difference your kindness could make.

After returning home with battlefield injuries, retired Army Sgt. Mack Cole of Cibolo, Texas told us,

"We have exhausted all the family's resources. We pray you will assist us."

You can help answer the prayers of a wounded hero like Mack Cole.

All you have to do is make a generous Easter donation to help our disabled troops and their families. And let me be the first to wish you and your family a Happy Easter.

Thank you for your faith, your kindness and your patriotism.

Major General John K. Singlaub

U.S. Army (Ret.).