Americans Give 'Thanks' To Overseas Armed Forces By Donating More Than 3,000 Movie Experiences

Wartime 'Theater' Operation To Uplift Those Away For The Holidays

10-Nov-04

As millions of American families gather peacefully this Thanksgiving, approximately 6,000 soldiers overseas, including 22-year old Spc. Adam Hintzke serving in the U.S. Army's 601st Aviation Support Battalion, will briefly escape from the harsh Iraqi desert and ""go to the movies."" Thanks to his family and hundreds like them, Specialist Hintzke and his comrades will enjoy more than 3,000 donated red-and-white popcorn boxes filled with DVDs, microwave popcorn, theater-style candy, and pre-sweetened, powdered drink mix shipped from back home. Milwaukee-area residents Kathy and Bernie Hintzke launched ""Operation: Take a Soldier to the Movies"" nationwide eight weeks ago to collect, box up, and transport complete movie experiences not only for their son but all 550 soldiers in his Battalion, plus 80 soldiers in the 45th Medical Company, in time for Thanksgiving Day. To promote the campaign, the Hintzkes interviewed with local and national press, created a web site, and emailed family, friends, schools, and Family Readiness Groups (FRGs) of officers, enlisted soldiers, civilians, or family members who volunteer to support fellow soldiers and family members. The more than 3,000 movies and treats sent from military families, elementary school students, businesses, community groups, and individuals throughout the country means that ""Operation: Take a Soldier to the Movies"" will expand delivery of movie packages to others in the armed forces in Iraq and Afghanistan. The Hintzkes recently decided to extend the program to include a Christmas/holiday delivery as well.""Who wouldn't want their son or daughter home for Thanksgiving,"" said Bernie Hintzke. ""But Adam can't be here, so we wanted to send him just a little taste of home. Because of the continued generosity of others, this Operation is succeeding more than we ever expected,"" Hintzke said. ""We want as much national interest and help on this project as we can get in order to reach as many units as possible in both Iraq and Afghanistan,"" he added. Each ""Operation: Take a Soldier to the Movies"" experience features a popcorn box package filled with a new or used DVD movie, two packets of microwave popcorn, two packets of pre-sweetened, powdered drink mix, an assortment of movie theater-style candy, and letters and photographs from the person, family, or people contributing the contents.Those interested may send DVDs alone or with other movie package items in any quantity to the Family Readiness Group (FRG) leader address below: Operation: Take a Soldier to the Movies Pam Lindenmeyer c/o 601st ASB CMR 454 BOX 2326 APO, AE 09250To defray the cost of sending the movie experience contents that are dropped off at Hintzke Associates to the FRG in Germany for final assembly and shipment, ""Operation: Take a Soldier to the Movies"" also welcomes cash donations. Checks may be made payable to the ""601st ASB Project"" and sent to Bob Bralich, St. Francis Bank, 10725 W. National Ave., West Allis, WI 53227.""Never before in all of my deployments have I experienced this extraordinary level of support for our soldiers from so many American citizens across the country. This genuine support truly gives us all a great sense of pride to serve our country and our way of life. My soldiers' pride, high morale, and desire to complete the mission is fueled by knowing that the American people truly care and support them during this global war on terrorism,"" remarked Commander Samuel J. Ford III of the U.S. Army's 601st Aviation Support Battalion.For more information, please visit http://www.soldiertomovies.org/.

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