At an American Legion Auxiliary meeting this past week the topic of holiday care packages to soldiers on active duty came up. The official report was that we wouldn’t be sending any this year because the only active duty soldier we had listed would be home shortly.

But then someone said, “Wait, weren’t there a couple listed in the paper two or three weeks ago?” And another said, “Yeah, you’re right and what about so-and-so?” It seems that while we had one soldier on the official list, we had an idea there might be others who had been overlooked. Not good.

In our defense, I will say that most of us are long past the stage where we have offspring heading off to boot camp. We also are far enough removed from the members of recent graduating classes that we do not know just how many recent Peabody-Burns graduates might have gone into the service. If we thought of any, it was because his or her name had been in the paper, someone worked with a soldier’s parent, or the soldier lived in our neighborhood.

We decided we were out of the loop and needed to launch a campaign for information. So here is the plan: Let me know.

We know it is a bit late, but we have had a few successful Auxiliary events in the past month and feel like we are on a roll! We think we can pull this off. You contact me right away, we will add the name of your Peabody soldier to our list, and we will send a holiday care package.

I am easy to find. My personal phone number is in the telephone book, the only Marshall listed (although the listing is still in The Mister’s name), and there is an answering machine. The Peabody Gazette-Bulletin also is listed in the telephone book and has an answering machine. You may e-mail me at news@peabodykansas.com or fax me at (620) 983-2700. The snail mail addresses for both my home and the paper are in the telephone book as well. If all else fails, leave a note at Pop’s Diner or the Coneburg Inn — the proprietors of both establishments expect to see me within 24 hours! What could be easier?

The information I need is pretty basic. Your soldier’s name and mailing address. That wasn’t hard at all, was it? Remember we are on a tight schedule, so I need this information quickly.

We appreciate your sons and daughters and what they do for us and our country. We want to remember them with a gift from their hometown this holiday season. Wherever they are, if they are not here, they are not home and we want them to know they are in our hearts, thoughts, and prayers. Give us a hand.

— SUSAN MARSHALL