This is probably the most heartfelt and sincere thing I’ve read. Regardless of opinions on the war, the fact that the USAF cannot provide armor for those who need it is ludicrous. Help protect someone who’s doing their duty.
If everyone who’s viewed the site had donated two dollars, he’d have the armor by now. It’s quick, it’s easy, it’s the right thing to do.
Donations/Parts wanted: Body armor…Dear Steven Plaza,
We want to thank you for serving our country overseas. Here at home, we realize that not everyone supports the war, or the president, but we ALL recognize that it’s people like you that are over there in the dirt and mud putting your lives on the line for us all. While we all hope and pray that nothing harms you or our fellow countrymen, we do realize that prayers and hopes don’t stop bullets. We hope this armor will never be needed, but if it ever is, it’s what we can do to raise the odds that you’ll come home safely. Please, be careful and keep your head low.
Thank you for your sacrifice,
This is the letter I want to include to my brother who is headed back overseas. The USAF is unable to provide him with adequate body armor for his new assignment. His unit is going to be taking over the Abu Ghraib(sp?) prison (The one with the war crimes in the news) and they have small arms fire and mortar attacks pretty much weekly. When Mom and I heard about that, we were of the mind that “Hell no you ain’t going over there without armor!!”
So I’m selling what I can sell and asking for donations for the rest. The armor costs about $1800 all total for the vest unit, class IV plates, neck and groin pieces in his size. While it’s worth every penny, it’s a lot more than my mother an I can scrape together on our own.
So here I am, asking the international community of ArsTechnica to help me out. I really don’t want to get the call that my nephew no longer has a daddy.
If you’d like to know more about my brother, I have linked off to his son’s site. Thank you all very much for whatever you can do.
Xavier Plaza, born May 30
This is the sale I currently have going.
If anyone has any extra money, please give.
justinª