Congressional Record

Hello blogging world :)

I apologize for my absence.  I just finished up the semester last Friday and I started summer school on Monday.  I have a class 4 hours a day until next Friday on top of 2 jobs.  I'm going to be in dire need of a vacation when this is all over.. talk about exhaustion. 

Anyways.

Last week I got a package in the mail from the parents of a 2/9 Marine.  Enclosed were several letters and I'll share them here..



Letter 1:

Dear Chrissy,

As you know I was an early supporter doing what I could.  Not because I felt sorry for you, but because I felt sorrow for you.

You know about all of that:

What I did from  here you didn't know and that is why I am writing to you now.

I watched as you moved.  I watched, I wrote and I did some research, puled some newspaper articles together, and wrote some more.

I eventually wrote to the First Lady telling her about you.  Telling the First Lady that you lost the love of your life.  That you didn't blame the administration, but took it upon yourself to start a fundraiser to raise money to help ship packages to Afghanistan to support Joshua's brothers.  I wrote suggesting she single you out for a Presidential level Citizenship Award.  I stated that you were what ALL AMERICAN CITIZENS should be made of.  That you were the perfect role model.

When I didn't hear anything back I called your local State Senator's office and spoke with a fantastic woman: Sandi Gillette.  Sandi was awesome and immediately took a liking to both you and I. 

Also attached is a letter that Senator Don White (PA) send US Representative Critz in Washington looking for support in Washington to get the First Lady to act on my initial letter and the letter I wrote to the First Lady.

We never did hear from the first Lady, but Representative Critz did act on my letters.

In any case, the attachment, marked OPEN LAST, can be opened now.  Please be careful as I did a lousy job packing it. 

After you read the letter in the next envelope, please understand how much I respect you and how all I wanted to do was to honor you for the outstanding citizenship you exhibited.  I never expect what occurred.  I assumed you'd get a medal of some sort.  Anyway, you're an amazing person Chrissy.  I am sorry for you loss.

Take care,
LS

Letter 2:

Dear Mrs. Obama,

I am writing to you today to tell you about a remarkable young woman.  A 20 year old woman who lost the love of her life in the war we are fighting in Afghanistan.

Chrissy is the most amazing person I've ever met.  Oh, wait a minute, I've never met Chrissy.  We became Facebook friends as our men deployed to Afghanistan.  My man is my son her man was LCpl Joshua Twigg.  Both served in the United States Marine Corps 2nd Battalion, 9th Marines and were slated to be deployed until February.  Joshua Twigg was killed in action on September 2, 2010.  My son is still serving our great nation.  Please Lord keep him safe.

Since September 2nd, Chrissy has been very vocal in the news.  NOT reaching out against the war, not speaking ill of our policies, just stating how terribly sad she was.  How empty her life was and how she needed to do something.  Something to help those fighting.  Something to help with the cause the man she loved gave his all in support of.

Well my friend Chrissy did something.  Boy did she do something!  She started a box drive and successfully raised funds and donations to ship close to 300 boxes to Afghanistan.  Additionally, this Veterans day she was the keynote speaker.  The speech is on the internet.  It's a tear-jerker.

I am writing to you today because I feel that Chrissy is worthy of a "Presidential" award.  Please review the two attachments I've enclosed and then pour yourself a cup of coffee or tea, whichever you prefer, grab a box of tissues and Google "Chrissy Young Twigg" that string will bring up some of the most tearful stories you'll ever read.  That string will show you what Chrissy is made of.

Stories of what being an American SHOULD be about.

Chrissy didn't sit back and complain about the war. 

Chrissy didn't sit back and blame the adminstration.

Chrissy didn't sit back and blame anyone.

Chrissy stood tall.

Chrissy looked for a way to make a difference and Chrissy executed with precision, a very successful drive to raise money and products to ship much needed supplies to out Marines ( I almost said soldiers, but you can't a Marine a soldier....)

I wish I lived closer so I could have embraced Chrissy each step of her way.  I wrote to her often and each email I sent was responded to quickly and each check I wrote was also acknowledged swiftly.

I really could go on for hours, but I won't.  I've seen your work.  I've seen how good a person you are.  I only hope that this letter will find its way to you and that you find a way to recognize Chrissy.  It won't bring Joshua back, but it may help Chrissy.  It may help her continue her cause.

Having a family member in Afghanistan is not easy.  There is many a night I don't sleep-- I can not even think about how devastating the loss of a child, or loved one would be.

I hope you can find some way to reach out to Chrissy and let her know how proud America is of her actions.  How people should learn from her actions.

Thank you for reading and considering my letter.

Sincerely,
LS

Letter 3:

Dear Mark:

Enclosed please find a copy of a letter written by L and C to Michelle Obama seeking recognition on behalf of a constituent in our district, Chrissy Young.  Review of the letter explains how special of a young woman Chrissy is and details of her dedication to a project aiding our servicemen.

I am also enclosing a copy of the letter Ms. Young used in solicitation of donors for her project and tells the story of her long time boyfriend, Lance Cpl. Joshua Twigg, who lost his life in combat.

I would personally appreciate your review of the enclosed  material and determine if a letter of recognition or some honorable mention could be issued to Chrissy for her outstanding support of our service members.  While it is evident her actions were not for recognition, I feel it is warranted.  I am unaware if the S letter resulted in any action from the White House directly to Chrissy.

Please contact Sandi of my staff if we can offer you any additional information with this request or if you are able to offer another approach.

Best Regards,
Don White
41st Senatorial District

All which lead to this:

 

I'm proud of it.  It makes me happy that people noticed and reached out.  Slightly disappointing the White House never responded.  It's okay though.  My goal all along was for people to know us and our story and now they do.  I'm not done by any means.  However, it's a great start and a moral booster.  It always helps to know that what you did really mattered and people take note of that.  I appreciate everything LS did and I could not thank them enough for this.

I'll be back to write more later, but for now I'm off to my 4 hours of class for the day.  Oh, by the way Joshua,  guess who got another 4.0 this semester?  This girl :)