The Corvettes of Lake County present a $1,000 check to Ginny Craven of Operation Tango Mike. Courtesy photo.

LAKEPORT – A group nearly 60 strong and ranging from toddler to WWII veteran put together the November care packages for Operation Tango Mike.

The packages were loaded with holiday treats, decorations, entertainment items, socks, gloves and personal care products. Always needed by the troops, wet wipes and foot powder were sent in large volumes.

Thanks to tremendous response, every care package contained at least five pieces of correspondence. The ever-popular additions ranged from drawings and creations to cards and letters.

Despite modern technology and means of communication, correspondence remains the No. 1 request from our troops.

Several members of the Corvettes of Lake County joined in the fun. They also presented a $1,000 check, the second installment of their $2,000 donation to Operation Tango Mike.

During this Thanksgiving holiday, we have much to be thankful for in beautiful Lake County. Operation Tango Mike continues to send 80 to 100 care packages to deployed troops every month. That is astounding, given the cost of shipping alone reaches nearly $1,000 monthly. Thankfully, generous donations of goods to fill the care packages and monies to ship them continue to arrive.

Troops are grateful for everything they receive and often send their gratitude directly to Operation Tango Mike via letters, e-mail and other messages.

A few of the recent communications follow:

SPC Morey Sparks. Courtesy photo.

SPC Sparks, a recently injured soldier, writes, “How are you? I am doing much better. I am still going to countless doctor appointments but it seems everything will be fine in time. I have fractures on my lower vertebrae and some nerve problems. They seem to think that with physical therapy things will get better. Thank you for what you guys are doing. It means a lot to all of us to see people supporting us and not bashing us like they do on the news. I will let you know more as soon as I know more myself. I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving. Take care and thank you.”

SSG Chris Hansen. Courtesy photo.

From SSG Hansen, “Just wanted to let you know I got the Thanksgiving care package today and it was all but dismantled by the guys in the Ops Center. I opened it up, pulled out a couple of things and then walked through the group to each person, offering it up. There wasn’t much left to say the least.

How are things going in Cali? It’s getting just a wee bit chilly out here. Lows in the 20s and 30s. Just waiting to wake up one morning and have boat loads of snow. I love the snow when it’s first coming down and when it’s still fresh but once it’s all packed and muddy, forget it. Plus I’m not wild about the cold that comes with the snow but it’s a necessary evil I guess.

Anyway, back to the grind. Just wanted to let you know it got here. Take care.”

From Cpl Tipton, “Thank you so much for the packages!!!!! So, whomever put these together tell them thanks. It was perfect timing. I really appreciate it a lot. Tell everyone thank you for it all. When I got all 3 boxes everyone else was jealous and kept bombarding me asking me what I got. Then there was a huge circle around me when I opened them and well…all of the food was eaten right then and there. So from the platoon, they wanted me to say thanks as well.”

So, as we give thanks for all we freely enjoy, let us not forget the troops serving this great nation, the veterans who have already done so, the military families worldwide, and those who made the ultimate sacrifice in their service to our country.

Ginny Craven is founder of Operation Tango Mike. For more information about the group, call 707-349-2838, e-mail This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or visit http://home.mchsi.com/~operationtangomike/wsb/html/view.cgi-home.html-.html.

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