People in the Quad Cities are sending the nation's military a little piece of home... to the sea.
On Sunday, October 20th, 2013, American Legion Auxiliary Members from around Scott County met to pack more than 65 care packages for 300 sailors on the U.S.S. Shoup. The sailors have been out at sea for five months now with no plans on returning to land soon.
Inside each box are some Halloween candy, snacks, toiletries, and other items they may need.
The effort is done through a national organization called Molly's Adopt-a-Sailor, which chooses a different military unit every month to receive care packages.
"They write back such neat notes of 'Thanks'," says Local Coordinator, Ruth Clayton-Davis. "They say - 'Oh my gosh. We're not forgotten.' That's the biggest message that we can send them is we do remember that they are out there."
Clayton-Davis says they received a big donation from the Donahue Auxiliary Unit and some of the day's 40 volunteers also included Marine and Navy Moms from across Iowa.
She says they are planning another packing party, which will be their 7th, for next spring.