Rest in peace, Jake

April 28, 2010 ... 

OPEN LETTER FROM THE DIRECTOR OF THE HERO TO HERO TROOP MORALE CAMPAIGN - 

THE HERO SHIRT PLEDGE DRIVE IS CLOSED! 

Tomorrow, April 28th, is a most significant day in our history. Until that day, Hero To 

Hero was a Washington State based program to honor Washington's deployed troops. 

Our message was that our first responders were willing to give the very shirts off their 

backs - regardless of their personal politics. It was truly about the warrior, not the war. 

Why did April 28th make the program change? Because that was the day that war became 

personal. That was the day our own family member was killed in Iraq. This program 

honors, specifically, two fallen heroes ... US Army Stryker, Sgt Jake Herring & Tacoma 

police officer James G Lewis.  Both were killed in their respective lines of duty. Both served 

in the military. Both were memorialized the same day in early May. 

I attended both memorials and (probably while in the grief process) determined that we 

needed to do more than just add a name to a wall ... we needed to honestly remember.  And 

so it was that the national - and eventual international - Hero Shirt Drive began.  And 

what a "drive" it was!  

We did 4 tours with an equivalency of twice around the equator by the time I was forced to 

quit after developing osteo-arthritis in my knees. We have been able to send more than 

35,000 shirts off the backs of heroes to our desert-deployed and wounded troops since  

Jake & James died, and met some amazing people. 

Why do I tell you this? Because tomorrow on the 6th anniversary of Jake & James deaths, 

the Hero Shirt Pledge Drive is closed!  Does this mean I have changed my mind or heart?  

No! What it means is that I can simply no longer try so hard to do what seemed so simple 

when the emotions of war enabled so many to open their hearts for our troops. 

This was a difficult decision to make, and a long time coming.  I tried, and a lot of other 

people tried to help. as well.  But I can honestly look in the mirror and know that along 

with some pretty great people we have done such wonderful things for so many ... And we 

should all be very proud of that! 

Angry?  No.  Maybe a little sad, but let's look at this as a positive.  We can still do good for 

the morale of our troops.  What does this mean to our supporters?  It means that if a troop 

contacts us personally for a shirt we will try to make that happen via our contacts, but we 

will no longer seek to make the Pledges happen, and the stateside drive is over. 

Many of you are not aware that in the States, I have been running the program single- 

handedly for over two years.  (The situation is the same in Canada, as the entire program 

is handled personally by Sarnia firefighter, Kevin McHarg.)  After 7 years of this, I can tell 

you personally that the work is never-ending, the pay is non-existent, the costs are many, 

& the rewards are unbelievable. 

Our teams were composed of mostly Gold Star families, or wounded troops & their 

families ... They would eventually get medically boarded & start trying to fight for their 

veterans rights, as that became all consuming for them, there was simply no time left to give to this 

cause.  It hurt, but we understood.  And to be honest, the economy did none of us any favors. 

So am I going to fold up & go away?  Should I?  Suppose that is up to all of you.  My 

thought is that rather than asking anyone to Pledge shirts, why not give the gift of words 

& thoughts from our heart? (Still, NO politics & NO pro/antiwar stances!)  I will still do 

what I can to honor and pay respects to the men and women who selflessly put their lives 

at risk for us everyday ... photo ops, visits & morale efforts for the military, veterans, fire, 

police & EMS.  My heart has not changed. 

The Pledge/Message form will now allow ANYONE who wants to post their message for 

their desert-deployed troops to a map that everyone can see & read ... Most importantly, 

our troops.  You can also add photos and/or video messages. 

While our friends to the north are more than welcome to join us & send messages to the 

troops, please remember, THERE ARE NO CHANGES TO HERO TO HERO TEAM CANADA'S 

PROGRAM!!!! Shirts are still needed & are collected as we did in the beginning of the 

stateside program. http://www.herotoheroteamcanada.com/HomePage.html 

Thank you to everyone who has & does support the Hero To Hero Troop Morale Campaign, 

and for all of you who stepped up for your troops via your Pledges and your shirts …     

Like it or not, you are heroes! 

lj

P.S ... One person CAN make a difference. Go to our Pledge page & make a difference for a troops morale!

Liz Jackson                                                                                                                                    

Director/Founder                                                                                                                                             

Hero To Hero Troop Morale Campaign                                                                   

www.herotohero.us

heroshirts@aol.com 

“Troops don’t choose their battles any more than firefighters or police” 

                                                                                                                                   Hero To Hero Troop Morale Campaign