Volume 3
Issue 5
July 05
 
     Where is the summer? Can you believe we are
almost into fall! Well, none the less it is coming and
the packages are going out pretty steady now. We’re
receiving letters almost daily now either saying
thanks or requesting a package. I guess OCR continues
to be a hit with the soldiers. 
       Kim continues to work on postage so that we can
keep shipping, as the demand increases. This is a good
thing!
       As always, thanks to all of our supporters. If
you haven’t gotten a note from me, it is only because
the printer went down and I had to get a new one. One
will be coming to you soon.
       Once again our neighbor to the north (Canada)
continues to send support to our soldiers. I
frequently get comics from folks there, but once
again, we just received a donation for postage. Thank
you to them for the support, I sure it doesn’t go
unnoticed by the soldiers. And to all of the US folks,
remember what they are doing for our soldiers!
        Until next month,
                       Chris

Volume 3
Issue 11 & 12
Jan./Feb. 06

     Well, here we are once again; another year over
and a new one begins. Which means OCR is soon to be
another year older. That’s right, in just a few weeks
OCR turns four!
As always, thank you to all of our supporter both new
and old. Without you there would be no OCR.
      Let’s see now, where should I begin. Well, Spc.
Miguel Pachebat returned home on leave and visited
with us. He stated that the comics were well received
and very much appreciated by the soldiers. He was very
thankful for what OCR had sent him to pass out to the
soldiers. He’s now returned back to the Gulf and we
have since shipped out more to him.
      As for the huge mailing we did before the
holidays; these packages were very well received and
the letters just poured in saying so. In fact, so many
letters came in that we were receiving them daily.
      Some of you may remember Maj. Sam Barton from
our past newsletters. He was the officer in
Afghanistan who flew a flag in our honor and mailed it
to us. It appears now that Maj. Barton is now in Iraq;
the man does get around! So, as soon as we get his new
address we will be shipping some packages to him once
again. By the way Maj. Barton, if you see this
newsletter, a flag from Iraq would look really sharp
next to the one from Afghanistan J.
      Finally, if you all remember the last
newsletter, I mentioned that I had sent packages to a
General. Well, I did and no I am not going to the
stockade; at least as far as I can tell.
It appears that Brigadier General Chaves enjoyed the
surprised!
      Lastly, in a few weeks I leave on a little trip,
during which I’m hoping to meet the good General and
see his bases. If this happens I hopefully will have
some great pictures to share with all of you.
       Until next time,
                          Chris

Volume 4
Issue 1 & 2
March/April 06

     It has been a while since our last newsletter and
it is not because there has been nothing going on. On
the contrary, things have been quite busy here at OCR.
     First off, OCR turned four in March and as always
I would just like to say thank you to all of our
supporters both old and new. Thanks to you we continue
to be able to support our soldiers.
     Packages continue to go out and we are currently
getting ready to do another large shipment. Thankfully
there will not be a large snowstorm the day we ship
these out, unlike the day we shipped out the December
packages.
    Once again I was invited to see some of the bases
in Hawaii and this time I got to see the Army Base of
Fort Shafter, Scofield Barracks, Wheeler Field, and
the Marine Base of Kane’ohe Bay. All were fascinating
places to see and learn of their historic roles during
the attack on Pearl Harbor.
     At the Marine base I was given a wonderful tour
by Cpl Rick Mattingly a sharp soldier who took pride
in his base, the history of the Marine Corp. and in
his country.
I can not thank him enough for taking the time to show
me around. I would also like to thank Mr. Cliff
Chappel, a retired Marine veteran who arranged the
tour.
      However, with all that I just mentioned I have
to say, I could not help but feel even luckier when I
got to meet with Brigadier General Joseph Chaves and
his wife Paulette.
      Both exuded elegance and grace and were down to
earth people who made me feel pride to know that our
military has people like that in it and leading our
soldiers. The General was a compassionate man who
cares for this country and his soldiers. I could tell
that when he makes a decision he weighs the options
heavily rather than just making a spontaneously
decision. His soldiers were not just soldiers; they
were his soldiers and this is his country.
     His wife is a kind a gentle lady who has just as
much pride in this country as he did. She was just as
compassionate as the General was about the soldiers
under his command.
     I can not thank them enough for taking the time
to meet with me. It seems to me I just babbled on
through our entire time together, but how often do you
get to see a Brigadier General never mind meet with
one. I apologize to both if I talked their ears off.
Both taught me so much and I thank them profusely. It
is my sincere hope to keep in touch with them and meet
with them again some day.
    Last but not least, I was quite proud and
surprised when on my flight over to Hawaii, a soldier
sat down in the seat next to me. After thanking him
for his service, I found out that he had just returned
for the Gulf not long before the trip and was
transferring to his new base in Hawaii. When I asked
him if he had ever heard of OCR when he was in the
Gulf he responded by saying not only that he had, but
that his unit was one of the ones that had gotten
comics from OCR. Seems he was with the 42nd, which we
shipped to a while back. He was very thankful as were
we; and I told him just that!
     Until next time,
                    Chris