On a day when Arbor Day and Pearl Harbor Day happened to fall on the same day, South Carolina sent hundreds of Christmas trees to members of the military and their families.
The Trees for Troops program is a nationwide effort that provides Christmas trees donated by growers and members of the public who purchase them to be donated.
At Hollow Creek Tree Farm in Gilbert, owner Mike McCartha and his employees loaded 220 trees on a FedEx truck. The company is donating its delivery services to the effort. Some of the trees were cut Friday morning at Hollow Creek farm, while others came from Spartanburg and Greenville counties, Conway, Rock Hill, Richland, Lexington and Saluda counties.
"It's just our way of showing respect to them and for what they do, I think, you know, letting them know that they're appreciated," says McCartha.
This particular shipment went to Ft. Stewart in Georgia, but the program is sending about 17,000 trees to 37 bases and 15 countries worldwide.
Many of the trees have cards from the members of the public who bought them or the growers who donated them, wishing the recipients happy holidays and thanking them for their service.
Some of the recipients write back to the Trees for Troops organization to let participants know how meaningful the trees are to them.
One military wife, whose husband is overseas, wrote, "As I was standing in line waiting to get the tree, I was overwhelmed and started to tear up at the thought that people would go to these great lengths to make our lives better."
And a member of the U.S. Navy stationed in Baghdad, Iraq wrote that the tree really made a difference in his life and the lives of the other sailors and Navy officers on loan to the Army. "Knowing that all of you are not only thinking about us, but are showing your appreciation in such a giving way makes what we do all the more worthwhile," he wrote.
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