Bigfork group sends care packages to Iraq, Afghanistan

By ALEX STRICKLAND / Bigfork Eagle

On the eve of Bigfork's Day of Decorating, about 50 people showed up to the Flathead Lake Lodge to help pack boxes to be shipped to three Army units stationed in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The yearly ritual is sponsored by the Soldiers Memorial Fund, a Bigfork-based charity set up by Paul and Muffin Vallely in honor of their son, Scott, who died while attending special-operations training at Fort Bragg, S.C.

This year 20 large boxes were packed full of all sorts of items from toiletries to candy and popcorn to flip-flops and T-shirts.

"You have to pack them tight because they get put on pallets and shipped on planes and helicopters and they get beat up," Paul Vallely said.

Vallely said that last year the boxes made it to Iraq and Afghanistan in about 10 days after being shipped first-class to McQuire Air Force Base in New Jersey, where the packages are packed on C-17 cargo planes bound for either Bagram Air Force Base north of Kabul, Afghanistan or Balad Air Force Base near Baghdad. From there, the boxes are sent via helicopter or truck to the individual units.

This year, for the first time, all three units being sent care packages for the holidays have some sort of connection to Bigfork, Muffin Vallely said. Whether it's a sibling or a friend of a friend, "it makes it more personal," she said.

Materials to send are purchased with donations from local groups and others from all over the country that come in via the organization's Web site, http://www.soldiersmemorialfund.org.

Locally, the Flathead County Republican Women, Dirt Bags and Dirt Baguettes bible study groups and Sun MTN Pizza all donated. Sun MTN gave 10 pizzas for the group working at packing up the boxes on Friday.

"We've got it down to an assembly line now," Paul Vallely said as the packing effort wound up after about 45 minutes. "The first year it took us two hours to do this."

Many of the volunteers were familiar faces, taking time out each year to make sure the boxes are ready to go to soldiers.

"What better time to participate?" asked Red Merlette, of Bigfork. "It's good for your soul."

The Soldiers Memorial Fund sends care packages to troops multiple times each year, not just at the holidays. To help out or donate, contact the fund at soldiersmemorialfund@gmail.com or visit their Web site at http://www.soldiersmemorialfund.org.