Star Journal Staff

From the time Rhinelander area military men and women were called to the Middle East to fight in the War in Afghanistan in the early 2000s, a group of loyal supporters back home has been doing its part to let them know they are not forgotten.

LeRoy Eades has been with the Rhinelander Military Support Group since its inception and this week, as he’s done for nearly 18 years, has prepared 25 boxes of snacks, socks, soaps and other necessities to be mailed overseas. Another 30 will go out next month and will reach the soldiers in time for Christmas.

Eades had worked through a military chaplain to accept the boxes and distribute them until recently, when he learned of the man’s death. Now, through word of mouth and luck, he has been put in touch with the mother of a Rhinelander soldier in Afghanistan, whose name will be on all 25 of the boxes. It’s a challenge for the support group to locate a person to accept the packages. Anyone who can provide the name and APO of a local soldier stationed in the Middle East is asked to call LeRoy or Shirley Eades at 715-362-2746.

The support group is always accepting donations of personal hygiene products, snack food, t-shirts, socks and the like, as well as cash. Eades said they had a good year for collections, but the supplies have dwindled. It costs about $50 to purchase items to fill each box, and $17 each for postage. The next big collection takes place in September at Peoples State Bank.