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BAGHDAD (4/30/2011) - The cookies brought smiles, but it was the
letter that produced the tears.
For members of the United States
Forces – Iraq, public affairs section, care packages are nothing new.
Always deeply appreciated, they come from a variety of different sources
- family members, charitable organizations and even a group of ladies
from Florida who have sent homemade snacks for as long as anyone in the
section can remember.
But the box that arrived at Al Faw palace
on March 4 was different. Inside were boxes of Girl Scout cookies. And a
handwritten note.
“Dear soldiers,
Hi, my name is
Mackenzie Frost. I am a second grader at Hawthorne Elementary School. I
am also a Girl Scout in Troop No. 2653. This year is my first year as a
Girl Scout. I came up with a great idea to collect boxes of Girl Scout
cookies to send to you guys because my Dad was a soldier just like you,
but he died in Iraq 3 years ago. My Daddy really loved Girl Scout
cookies. I went door to door selling Girl Scout cookies. I got people to
donate these cookies for you all to enjoy. I thought this was a great
way to remember my Dad, Staff Sgt. Christopher Frost, USAF.
Love, Mackenzie Frost.”
Staff Sergeant Frost of Waukesha, Wisconsin died March 3, 2008 near
Bayji, Iraq in a crash of an Iraqi Army Mi-17 helicopter.
Assigned to the 377th Air Base Wing, he was a public affairs specialist
working for Multi-National Security Command–Iraq. Mackenzie was five
years old.
The gesture and letter deeply touched the public
affairs service members.
“Mackenzie's thoughtful and unselfish
attitude are simply amazing to me,” said Col. Kevin V. Arata, Chief, J9
strategic communications, “It shows how one person, when they put their
mind to it, can make a big difference and contribute so much to others.”
“That someone who has lost so much is thinking of others like she
did, is indicative of someone with a warm, caring heart, who really
knows what it means to be kind to others,” Arata continued. “Mackenzie
is certainly upholding the Girl Scout motto of serving God and country
and helping people at all times.”
The next day, more boxes
arrived. Then even more. The stream became a torrent and then a flood.
Stacks of cookie boxes appeared on tables throughout the palace. They
didn't stay there long.
All told, there would be 762 boxes.
Mackenzie's letter immediately was posted on the section's bulletin
board, and collectively they decided something had to be done to
recognize the little girl's efforts.
“We kept thinking that
people were just happening to send all these cookies from different
places at one time,” Arata said. “Then we saw copies of Mackenzie's
letter in each of the boxes and we figured it out - she had put together
this “campaign” to send cookies to Iraq, en masse, and we were the lucky
recipients. That's when we knew we had to do something to say thank you,
and Operation Mackenzie was born.”
It would eventually span two
continents over nine time zones and involve active Army and Air Force
service members, the Wisconsin National Guard (WING), the Air Force
Reserve and Hawthorne Elementary School – all working to give something
back.
The coincidences were staggering. Lt. Gen. Frank G. Helmick,
the USF-I deputy commanding general for operations and commander of
the XVIII Airborne Corps, had taken over MNSTC-I just a few months after
Frost's death. Members of the PAO section remembered the incident.
Air Force 2nd Lt. Nathan Wallin from WING Public Affairs went to the
Defense Information School with Frost, and had helped with his funeral
arrangements. And the Air Force Reserve's 440th Airlift Wing – formerly
stationed in Wisconsin – is now at Pope Army Airfield, which is
co-located with Fort Bragg, the home of the XVIII Abn. Corps and many of
the PAO section's soldiers.
First, the section flew a flag over
the palace in Mackenzie and her father's honor, and the USF-I Air
Component Coordination Element donated a shadow box to house the flag.
They created a photo collage, and had it framed with help from the Al
Faw Palace Mayor's Cell. Lt Gen. Helmick provided a signed three-star
letter to place in the framed photo collage, along with a personal
video tribute to Mackenzie.
Phone calls and emails flew back and
forth between Wisconsin and Baghdad. Wallin took over plans to help
deliver the packages, coordinating with Mackenzie's mother, Tiffany
Goodson, and her principal, Joe Russell, for a special school-wide
assembly.
On April 19, it all came together. In front of her
classmates, Mackenzie received her thanks. Helmick's video ran. Air
Force Colonel Richard Fischer, commander of the 440th Medical Squadron
from Pope Army Airfield presented the mementos. Dry eyes were hard to
find, but there were plenty of smiles.
Afterward, Russell said
staff members and parents told him it was by far the most meaningful
assembly they'd ever witnessed.
Goodson said she was incredibly
proud of her daughter.
“It was amazing that she came up with the
idea and was able to execute it,” she said.
And Mackenzie's
reaction upon receiving her gifts?
“Awesome!”
Lt. Gen. Frank Helmick sends a greeting to Mackenzie Frost thanking
her
for care packages sent to service members overseas. Video by U.S. Forces Iraq
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