This program was begun just after September 11, 2003.  The war had begun, and a news story was done on the "Heroes of 9-11".  

Shortly after, I approached a Fort Lewis Soldier and asked how it felt to be a hero.  He replied that he was not a hero, just doing his job.  To him, the heroes were the first responders back home taking care of his family while he was away.  He said if he wasn't focused he might not return - they let him focus, knowing his loved ones were safe. 

Following up, the same question was put to a Lakewood firefighter who responded instantly that he was no hero, just doing his job.  And the true heroes were the ones putting their life on the line in the sand since 9-11.

Hmmm ... So how do you get these groups who obviously admire and support one another together?

Just after these words were uttered, the first thing that was apparent was the logo over this firefighter's heart. The department logo bore the name of the hometown he worked for.  Every troop deployed is from a hometown somewhere and the ultimate show of support is to give someone the shirt off your back.

I was part of another support effort, and suggested the idea to them.  They liked it, but were geared more to send holiday packages.  And besides they already had a Valentine's Day program with a very similar name.  To be fair, they were my first support for this effort, but were not able to dedicate to the effort to the depths I envisioned.  They shipped our first batch of 800 shirts, and it was agreed that I would take my idea and develop it as I had intended.  We've now shipped nearly 20,000 shirts, and they have sent countless packages.  We're all doing the right thing.  And we parted with respect and friendship.

It was their founder who came up with the idea of adding written messages to the shirts, which has become a favorite part of the program.

We originally intended that the shirts would only go to Washington State troops to let them know that Washington did not care about the politics ... only our Troops.

That changed when one of our family members was killed in Iraq.  US Army Sgt Jake Herring, one of Fort Lewis' "Strykers", 520th Inf, Charlie Co., was killed in Talafar on April 28, 2004.  Jake changed everything.  And this small idea was expanded to honor all of our Fallen & Wounded Heroes when we realized that the same day we lost Jake, we lost Tacoma Police Department Motorcycle Cop/USMC Veteran, James Lewis.  Both of these fine men were killed in their respective line of duty.  With their deaths, H2H became a national program, and the National Tour was born.  Shirts would be sent to troops from hometowns far & wide across America.

Later that year, Larry Kaibetoney, of the 25th BSB (Again, Fort Lewis), was seriously injured in the Mosul Dining Hall bombing.  Larry was a scant 8 feet from the bomber.  He came back broken physically, but with this heart & spirit fully intact.  Larry, his wife Chani, & sister Leta, have been dedicated to the cause of troop morale ever since.  They are all active Core Team members, and we couldn't do it without them -- And wouldn't want to!

Since then, Canada has come onboard via the diligent efforts of a firefighter from Ontario.  Kevin McHarg, of Sarnia, who is now our first Canadian Ambassador, and a Core Team Member.  He oversees the parallel effort of HeroToHero.US, up north.  Nice job, eh?

HeroShirts@aol.com