Valentine to a soldier: 'Thank you for protecting us' Post offices, VFW, schools participate in Project V-Day BY CHRISTINE VARNO Staff Writer PHOTOSBYROBERTBIETH OCEANPORT - - More than 2,000 Valentine greetings sent by students and members of the Oceanport and Eatontown communities were set to reach soldiers stationed in Iraq on Valentine's Day. According to acting Oceanport Postmaster Kathryn Lockwood, the Valentine's Day greetings were posted on Monday to arrive in time for the traditional day when lovers and others make their true sentiments known. In this case, Lockwood thought, what better way to say thank you to American soldiers serving in Iraq "for all they do for U.S." than to send them a Valentine? Acting on that inspiration, Lockwood enlisted Oceanport Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 10129 to launch Project V-Day. The partners in the project reached out to members of the community, borough officials, and students and staff at Oceanport and Eatontown public schools as well as St. Dorothea Church in Eatontown to create Valentine greetings for the soldiers in Iraq. VFW Commander Joe Bambach arranged to pick up the Valentines on Feb. 8. "Everyone has just been so supportive of the whole project," said Lockwood in an interview last week. "[The postal service] tries to come up with creative ideas to become more involved with the community. "This is the first year we have done this, and the response has been overwhelming," she said, adding, "We thought this would be a great time of the year for soldiers to see letters and pictures during the Valentine season." On Feb. 1 the post offices, with the help of the VFW, began publicizing the project, Lockwood said. Fliers were sent to Oceanport residents as well as to both borough schools, Wolf Hill and Maple Place schools. Then Lockwood decided to reach out to Eatontown. "I am also a CCD teacher at St. Dorothea's in Eatontown," she said. "So I got all the religious education students to participate and then I ran into the PTO president of Eatontown [public schools] and the project spread. "I called the postmaster in Eatontown and he was enthusiastic to carry it out in the Eatontown School District," Lockwood said. Participating community members were instructed not to address the letters and to not include postage. "We want to keep events like this going so people get interested," Lockwood said. "So we wanted to pay for the postage for all of these." The Eatontown post office also agreed to pay for the postage of the letters from the Eatontown schools, Lockwood added. Because the letters were unstamped, the Oceanport post office could not accept the letters, so borough hall and the Oceanport Pharmacy extended their locations for letters to be dropped off. The VFW supplied boxes and banners at the locations to collect the letters. The letters began pouring in last week, Lockwood said, adding that the community feedback was "wonderful." "The schools were so enthusiastic," she said. "They were thankful and told us it was a great idea. "And we really did not have too much time." The letters were mailed on Feb. 12 and were expected to reach the soldiers by Feb. 14, Lockwood explained. "This all came together in a week," she said. On Feb. 8, Lockwood was preparing the letters to be sent and counted 800 letters in one box and still needed to count letters in three more boxes. "There is a lot here," she said. "We received at least 500 letters from the Eatontown schools. "Oceanport did very well too," she added. The letters represented a variety of personal, sometimes poignant messages and lots of creativity, according to Lockwood, who said she received short notes, long letters, colored pictures, letters with computer graphics and some collages. "It is really hard to read some of these," Lockwood said. "They are really touching." Many of the letters said "Good luck," "Hope you have a great Valentine's Day," "Hope you come home soon," and "We are thinking of you." Other excerpts from the letters include, "If it weren't for you our country wouldn't be what it is today" and "Thank you for serving our country. I miss you." One letter that Lockwood said especially touched her, read, "You may not see your loved one or your family, but you are thinking of them and they are thinking of you. Thank you for everything you have done." The idea for the project was simple for the post office to carry out, Lockwood explained. "This is something that is just in our realm of expertise," she said. In addition to Eatontown, Oceanport also extended the project to post offices in Piscataway, Flemington, Hightstown and Middlesex. "Everyone was on board," she said. Lockwood said she was grateful for the support from the Oceanport teachers, principals and superintendent, as well as the Oceanport mayor and the Eatontown Postal Service. "They were all so supportive of this whole project," Lockwood said. "We hope to do more projects like this in the future."