Britannia Radio

Thursday, February 26, 2009 Coalition to Salute America's Heroes Providing Emergency Aid to Severely Wounded Troops and Their Families in Crisis PO Box 96440 Washington, DC 20090   Key Programs: Kids Camps  Emergency Financial Aid Homes for Wounded Heroes  Wounded Hero Career Network  Family Support Network  Road to Recovery  Conference Celebrity Friends: Buzz Aldrin Lynda Carter Tim Conway Cathy Lee Crosby Larry Csonka Charlie Daniels Tony Danza Barbara Eden Jamie Farr Brett Favre Lee Greenwood Wayne Gretzky Charles Grodin Valerie Harper David Hasselhoff Diane Keaton Tommy Lasorda Brenda Lee Melissa Manchester Rue McClanahan Don Meredith Jack Nicklaus Arnold Palmer Richard Petty Jane Powell Burt Reynolds Cathy Rigby Pat Riley Brooks Robinson Ricky Scaggs Ben Stiller  Joe Theismann Al Unser Kurt Warner Dear Patriotic American, The ice-cold winter weather has brought thousands of severely wounded troops to the brink of financial catastrophe.   Please click here to rush emergency financial relief to a severely disabled GI in danger of an eviction, car repossession, utility cutoff, foreclosure or other financial catastrophe. You'll also be able to send a THANK YOU and GET WELL card to a severely wounded hero. My name is General Chip Diehl (Ret.) and I'm writing to you on behalf of the Coalition to Salute America's Heroes. The Coalition is a nonprofit organization founded in 2004 to provide emergency financial and other aid for troops who have been severely wounded in Iraq or Afghanistan. Here's why your help is needed right away. Three elements have combined to create a "Perfect Storm" for our severely disabled servicemen and women. ONE: The ice-cold winter weather, which increases utility bills. TWO: Falling family incomes. The spouses of nearly half our disabled GIs have quit their jobs to care for them, and as a result their income has gone into freefall. THREE: The recession, which has caused the spouses of thousands of disabled GIs to lose their jobs. Thank God the Coalition to Salute America's Heroes is doing something to help. We've launched an emergency campaign to "Bring Them In From The Cold" and I hope I can count on your support. The Coalition has set a goal of rushing an emergency aid check to help every severely wounded serviceman or woman facing eviction, a utility cutoff or homelessness this winter. Please click here to "Bring Them In From The Cold" and help these forgotten heroes this winter, maybe even someone living near you. You can also let these struggling troops know you support them and the sacrifice they made. When you click to"Bring Them In From the Cold" you can fill out a special GET WELL and THANK YOU card that we will deliver to a severely injured soldier to boost his or her spirits this winter. The Coalition has already rushed emergency aid in response to 11,069 requests from severely wounded troops and their families facing crises like foreclosure, eviction or the disconnection of their heat or hot water. A few examples of those helped by the Coalition: •   A severely wounded soldier named Wendell W. McLeod Jr. was in dire straits since his wife lost her job of 20 years because she had to stay home and take care of him. After receiving emergency financial aid he said, "The Coalition to Salute America's Heroes has helped us pick up the pieces of our broken life." •   Dennis Smutzer suffered brain damage while serving in Iraq. Because of this injury, Dennis could not return to his job as a heavy equipment operator. His wife Angie wrote to the Coalition asking for "some help with our mortgage payment so we don't lose our home." As the winter cold has blanketed large parts of the country, the Coalition has been swamped with new calls from severely injured troops like these pleading for help. So please click here to "Bring Them In From The Cold" and help these forgotten heroes this winter. The income of many of our GIs who have been burned, blinded or paralyzed has been slashed by half or more because their spouses have quit their jobs to care for them. So they are now living on just a modest military salary or disability check with a lot of expenses they didn't have a year or two ago. As you can imagine in the middle of winter, an eviction or utility cutoff can literally be a matter of life and death. Frankly we took a "leap of faith" when we made our promise to rush emergency aid checks to help every severely wounded serviceman or woman - because aid requests are pouring in and we don't know how many we'll receive. That's why we're relying on folks like you to click here and send a generous donation to the Coalition today along with your signed THANK YOU and GET WELL card. These severely wounded soldiers sacrificed a lot for this country. Giving them a helping hand during this tough time in their lives is one small way to honor that sacrifice. Thank you and may God bless you. Sincerely, Brigadier Gen. Chip Diehl U.S. Air Force (Ret.) P.S. As the freezing winter weather sweeps across the country, hundreds of severely wounded soldiers are facing eviction, the cutoff of their heat and hot water and other disasters. Many of these proud veterans are facing these financial crises because they can no longer work or their spouses have quit their jobs to take care of them. Will you help get these severely wounded heroes back on their feet? Please click here to make a donation to the "Bring Them In From The Cold" campaign sponsored by the Coalition to Salute America's Heroes. You can also personalize a special GET WELL and THANK YOU card that will be delivered to a severely wounded serviceman or woman.