Dear Blue
Star Mothers,
My name is Command Sergeant Major (CSM) Kenneth E. Wolfe. I am the CSM of the 501st Airborne
Infantry Battalion (BN) GERONIMOs from Fort Richardson, Alaska. We are currently deployed to Afghanistan. I
am originally from a small town in East Tennessee named Sevierville. My Commander, Lieutenant Colonel Clint Baker is also
from a little southern town in Central Texas called Hamilton. We are both career Paratroopers.
Everyone
has a mother but not every mother guarantees that their Paratrooper is well taken care of. However, the “Moms”
from Miami Valley Chapter #3 are without peer in this arena. Let me explain. We received a Care Package
from your organization one day most unexpectedly. In appreciation I sent a short note of thanks to the
name on the box and a brief explanation of our battalion, its mission, and the Paratroopers that make it what it is. Rest
assured it was by no means noteworthy prose coming from this fine example of Tennessee Public Education. Returning
from a mission a couple of weeks later I discovered the Mom I had written responded in kind. She was thoughtful,
caring and indicated to me that the Moms only wanted to do more. Through e-mail correspondence she painted
a picture that shed all of the Moms in a wonderful light. I did not need it. I know firsthand how magnificent
the ladies of the Miami Valley are, my wife Dana is from Huber Heights, the “World’s Largest Brick Home Community.”
However, I would be remiss if I did not send a note of thanks for the tremendous largess we have received in the last
week from all of you.
As I explained to my Blue Star Mom, I have 15 female Paratroopers attached to my battalion
doing a myriad of tasks to support the Infantrymen. I cannot convey how happy they were to receive the
Care Packages that catered to their specific needs. Our females are in some pretty remote places as well and cannot always
get to a big FOB where life is a little easier. The men thank you also. Your level of
support has been overwhelming.
I speak on behalf of all the GERONIMOs here in Afghanistan
when I say, thank you, thank you so very much. I thank all of you in the Blue Star Mothers for what you are doing not only
for my Paratroopers in the 501st but for all of the Armed Forces. We acknowledge and appreciate
the fact that you are not compensated for your time or money. You are the real heroes to us for the simple fact that your
service is done purely out of kindness and compassion for your fellow Americans. Thank you, again.
Kenneth E. Wolfe
CSM, USA
