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None/AP photo/Family photo Locals join to help troops searching for Lawrence GI
By Renee Nadeau
Thursday, May 31, 2007 - Updated: 05:18 AM EST
Troops faced with the daunting task of tracking missing Lawrence soldier Spc. Alex R. Jimenez will soon be getting a helping hand from the home front, as a Methuen-based nonprofit aims to send caseloads of care packages to the search team.
The Search Team Appreciation Drive, launched Memorial Day by New England Caring for our Military, has already garnered more than a half-ton of gifts to send to the soldiers.
“One person can make a very big difference in a soldier’s life when they send something,” said organizer Jim Seregio-Wareing, who has stored the care package supplies in his Methuen basement.
The nonprofit has set up drop-off locations in Lawrence, Haverhill and Methuen and expects to have more in at least three other Merrimack Valley communities.
Those who want to donate can take a tip from those who have sent care packs in the past.
“Anything from home,” said Sunny Clukey of New Salem, whose son, Michael Morse of Orange, is on the search team. “He’s pretty homesick right now.”
Clukey has sent her son Red Sox [team stats] and Patriots [team stats] gear in the past, but she recently dispatched necessities such as toothpaste and baby wipes, which troops use when showers are not an option. “When they get a care package, it really helps lift the spirit,” she said. Lawrence veteran services agent Francisco Urena agrees. “When I was there we were always happy to receive anything, from small American flags . . . to baby wipes,” he said.
Jimenez and Pvt. Byron Fouty were kidnapped on May 12 during an ambush that killed four soldiers and an Iraqi translator. The body of a third kidnapped soldier, Pfc. Joseph Anzack Jr., was found May 23.
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