As most people know, various groups all around the USA have been sending care packages to the men and women in Iraq and other areas where US service people have been deployed. I happened to belong to a ladies' auxiliary which has been among those groups sending care packages.
One day, a letter arrived from my son, a US Marine in Iraq, whose platoon had received the care packages, requested that I convey the heartfelt and sincere thanks from him and all his buddies for the "goodies" and the generosity of the donors and senders. Everyone thought it was just great except for one incident. Due to some mix up, one of his buddies whom we'll call Marine X, accidentally got a package meant for a female soldier. For this, of course, that guy got a lot of ribbing and teasing from his fellow Marines. His "female package" included some skin lotion, some female underwear, and tampons. One guy grabbed one of the panties and hoisted it up onto a Humvee's antenna, where it waved in the wind, and it became of a source of amusement for the men for a while.
Then. . .one day, Marine X and several others were sent by their commanding officer on a special emergency mission. Marine X hurriedly grabbed a bunch of items from his care package including some Chapstick and hand lotion, and got in the Humvee. As luck would have it, he accidentally grabbed some of the tampons, too. Again, everyone teased Marine X about 'not forgetting to bring his feminine hygiene products'.
Things went well for a while, until their convoy was ambushed and one fellow Marine was hit by a bullet. He sustained a very deep wound which bled profusely. Vigorous first aid efforts to stop the bleeding could not stop the bleeding until one of the fellows suggested that they use one of Marine X's tampons.
And the mother continued to read from the letter: 'Mom, did you know that tampons expand, and it stopped the bleeding?'
The wounded Marine was then sent to the nearest field hospital. After the rest of the wounded Marine's friends returned from their mission, they went to check on him. The surgeon told them that their buddy would have bled to death if the bleeding had not been stopped.
The mother read on, 'Mom, the tampons sent by the Marine moms by mistake saved a Marine's life. . .At that point, we divided the tampons among us, and each of us now carry at least a couple of tampons in our flak jackets. And we now also have some of them in our first aid kit.'
It is absolutely amazing that something which started out as a mistake, and which became a joke, ended up saving someone's life. One sister in the auxiliary said she doesn't believe in mistakes but believe that God had a plan all along. She believes that the 'female care package' was sent to Marine X to save another fellow Marine.
The incident not only boosted the morale of many of my son's fellow Marines, but it also strengthened the faith of everyone in my ladies' auxiliary.
Author Unknown
One day, a letter arrived from my son, a US Marine in Iraq, whose platoon had received the care packages, requested that I convey the heartfelt and sincere thanks from him and all his buddies for the "goodies" and the generosity of the donors and senders. Everyone thought it was just great except for one incident. Due to some mix up, one of his buddies whom we'll call Marine X, accidentally got a package meant for a female soldier. For this, of course, that guy got a lot of ribbing and teasing from his fellow Marines. His "female package" included some skin lotion, some female underwear, and tampons. One guy grabbed one of the panties and hoisted it up onto a Humvee's antenna, where it waved in the wind, and it became of a source of amusement for the men for a while.
Then. . .one day, Marine X and several others were sent by their commanding officer on a special emergency mission. Marine X hurriedly grabbed a bunch of items from his care package including some Chapstick and hand lotion, and got in the Humvee. As luck would have it, he accidentally grabbed some of the tampons, too. Again, everyone teased Marine X about 'not forgetting to bring his feminine hygiene products'.
Things went well for a while, until their convoy was ambushed and one fellow Marine was hit by a bullet. He sustained a very deep wound which bled profusely. Vigorous first aid efforts to stop the bleeding could not stop the bleeding until one of the fellows suggested that they use one of Marine X's tampons.
And the mother continued to read from the letter: 'Mom, did you know that tampons expand, and it stopped the bleeding?'
The wounded Marine was then sent to the nearest field hospital. After the rest of the wounded Marine's friends returned from their mission, they went to check on him. The surgeon told them that their buddy would have bled to death if the bleeding had not been stopped.
The mother read on, 'Mom, the tampons sent by the Marine moms by mistake saved a Marine's life. . .At that point, we divided the tampons among us, and each of us now carry at least a couple of tampons in our flak jackets. And we now also have some of them in our first aid kit.'
It is absolutely amazing that something which started out as a mistake, and which became a joke, ended up saving someone's life. One sister in the auxiliary said she doesn't believe in mistakes but believe that God had a plan all along. She believes that the 'female care package' was sent to Marine X to save another fellow Marine.
The incident not only boosted the morale of many of my son's fellow Marines, but it also strengthened the faith of everyone in my ladies' auxiliary.
Author Unknown
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