“The mission of HeroToHero.US is to be a conduit between Heroes, past and present,
be they Firefighter, Law Enforcement, or Military. We support their missions,
their morale, and the loved ones most impacted by their sacrifices."

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Please take a moment of silence to observe the passing of Canada's last WWI vet, and our friend, John "Jack" Foster Babcock. Jack passed away on Feb 18th, 2010 at the age of 109, leaving just two WWI vets behind. You can be a part of the online tribute to Jack here on our "A Message to Jack" page. He declined a state funeral, but there is no reason that every person who'd have lined the streets for his memorial can not leave a message for him that we can share with his wife Dot & his family.

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Follow us on Facebook or Twitter ... "Hero To Hero" ... We love new friends and fans!

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HeroToHero.US is emergency first responders giving the shirts off their backs for our desert-deployed troops. The ultimate show of support, the very shirt off your back. This program makes it possible for first responders to send the very (department logoed) shirt off their back to their hometown troops - Nearly 30,000 so far. We need YOUR department to PLEDGE so that your own troops aren't left out!

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What do we do? We are a Troop MORALE Campaign. The various program under our umbrella are here to bring smiles to our desert deployed troops so far from home & loved ones. Check us out ...

Hero To Hero ... Our main mission is the hometown hero shirt effort. If you strip everything else away, this whole thing started because we wanted to send some shirts to our troops to let them know they were not forgotten, no matter our personal politics or views on the war. Due to the challenge of osteo-arthritis for our program founder & director, Liz Jackson, the program had to change. No more coming to visit the depts and pick up shirts, or having the shirts sent here for the annual Pack-Outs. The program changed and now we ask hometown departments to join their counterparts and pledge a signed department shirt for requesting hometown troops. **Please read more on our PLEDGE page.

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Operation Caffeination ... The best proof we have that Starbucks DOES support our troops! They have been making sure that we have a steady supply of their great coffee for requesting desert-deployed troops ... So if you want to know the real story about Starbucks & the troops, check it out!

Operation Iraq'n'Robin-istan ... Is perhaps one of our more creative and fun morale efforts. This campaign was borne out of sadness after the loss of a family member in Iraq. One of his comrades advised us that the hardest thing to do after a loss was knowing when it was okay, or even appropriate to laugh again. With the help of Red Robin Restaurants we created a way to give them an assist with the answer. This program is usually worked via the chaplains.

Hero To Hero Team Canada ... We're so proud to say that we are not alone in supporting our deployed troops. In 2005, Sarnia, Ontario firefighter Kevin McHarg stepped up, inviting HeroToHero.US to visit on the annual national tour. It was love at first meeting with the country to our north, and they became partners in the Hero To Hero efforts. Before we knew it, Kevin had worked his way from volunteer to Canadian Ambassador, to Canadian Director - working many hours for no monetary gain at all, and making many personal sacrifices to keep this going. They're still doing the program "old-school style", collecting the shirts & shipping them via Pack-Out events. Talk about troop support, they're doing it right. Check them out, eh?

A Message for Jack ... This is our living tribute page to one of our all time favorite vets, Jack Babcock. Jack's public claim to fame is that he is Canada's only surviving World War One veteran, & he just turned 109!!! Canadian-American Jack's claim to fame for us is, well, just Jack. He's an amazingly humble guy, who along with his sweetheart of a wife, Dot, has opened their home to us on numerous occasions for visits that are priceless to us. He shares stories and memories from days none of us were here to remember, and does it with a great laugh and distinct charm all his own. We love this guy - and Dot! Get to know him thru our visits, we share them with you here. Soon you'll be able to leave him a personal message for Dot to share with him directly.

BadAss Heroes ... What the heck is that? Should I cover my kid's eyes? First off, absolutely don't cover their eyes. Let them see some of the people who have looked outside themselves to do something for the morale of our troops and first responders. This is our trademark pose done by most everyone with whom we have contact. It was introduced to us by a soldier from Fort Lewis and has become a mainstay for us. You can even send us your BadAss shot ... It says "I will stand up for what I believe, and I believe it is important to support our troops!" Take a look at the BadAss gallery.

Photo Gallery ... We do a lot with very little and no staff, it's how we began, with the message that one person CAN make a difference. Our team was made up mostly of local troops and their families & wounded troops. These families move on, the wounded are usually medically boarded & go back to their homes as well. But whether it's one person or a dozen, we still manage to be very involved and try to get photos of events we attend. This is done to document our efforts, but more importantly as a place where loved ones can come to see their heroes in action (or play). And most importantly, the troops can peek back home and see some of the things going on, on their behalf. We do NOT sell our pix, they are all available for download with the agreement that those used on other sites give credit as due "Photos courtesy of HeroToHero.US". Our goal is to make the folks in our pix feel like rockstars!. **Pacific NW first responders/military ... If you have an upcoming event you think would be a good fit for us, please contact us and we'll see if we can get out there for some pix for you.

Wanna See a Video ... From time to time we do video compilations, post online messages & tributes, upload news stories of interest, or add interviews we've done for the program. Sometimes they're just silly things for those who want a laugh. In any event, here's where we keep them. Most of them are posted on utube as well.

From the Troops ... This is one of the favorite pages. As you scroll down, the faces and words of our troops from both America & Canada fill the page. The smiling faces in the hero shirts tell you that it DOES make a difference. Be a part of this ... Keep those smiles coming. We welcome all troop pix, as well as first responder department photos. Family members, you can send troop pix and we'll post them for all to see. And troops, keep 'em coming!

IMPORTANT! Please be especially aware of Operational Security (OPSEC) issues whenever dealing with our troops. Some troops may not be able to tell you specifically where they are or what they do. Please respect that - There is usually a reason. Perhaps when they return and stop by for a visit, they will share then. Always confirm with the troop before printing/posting any messages, especially if they give locations. (One over-zealous soldier sent us great photos of the camp layout including which tents contained the officers quarters, and some other things we won't repeat ... After checking before even considering publishing the info, the troop realized what they'd shared and quickly asked us to PLEASE not share any of that! We had to chuckle a little, and waited 'til they sent a different message and photos.)

*Be advised that we put OPSEC on par with troop morale, and whether dealing with our first responders or our deployed troops, those two items are the most important components of our program. We do not share info outside of what we post publicly after review, or in order to make the connection between heroes. We're old school ... "Loose lips sink ships".

One more thing has NOT changed ...

NO politics ~ NO pro/antiwar stances ~ Strictly troop morale - NO borders to our allies

On a personal note:
I would like to thank all of you for your support and prayers over the past year & a half with all of my medical uncertainties. The diagnosis is a pretty healthy case of Osteo-Arthritis, with a few extenuating issues - I am doing all I can to rehab/condition the legs. Down the road, it looks likes I'll have new knees. Overall, I think the program revamping is gonna be a good thing. Some people heard false rumors that the program was broken because I was - NOT true! This program has been the motivating factor for me to get back to 100%

Others thought because we didn't visit them on the national tours that we were done, or they had been forgotten, again not true. I'd hoped to one day get back on the road for the full tour, but it appears that is not in my cards. Trying to get out to as many departments as possible, but my teams are scattered to the winds and no longer in the local area. Don't count me out though. I can't climb the mountain, but I can still get to the foothills, ya know?

In the meantime, as one of my heroes put it so succinctly, I need you all to be my legs 'til I can do it on my own. Oh who am I kidding?! I never did this on my own, but hey, we make a danged good team!

Thank you for all of the encouragement, messages, and all of the prayers through all of this - They are all priceless to me! Now please go Pledge, that is the biggest support you can give right now! ( ;

Much love, Liz
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UPDATE: We have added new ways to stay in touch with what we're up to... Twitter & Flickr

**To contact us, e-mail; HeroShirts@aol.com