A few days ago, Reilly did a post about The Fallen Troop Bracelets. It was an article about a man named Chris Greta, an Austin ad man, who launched an online side business selling bracelets inscribed with the names of American troops killed in Iraq.
I just want to clarify a few things here so that the hate mail can come to an end:
- We are not the organizers of the Fallen Troop Bracelet venture
- We do not profit from the Fallen Troop Bracelet venture
- We are not affiliated with Chris Greta of the Fallen Troop Bracelet venture
- We do have a Chris who posts here once in awhile – but he is not Chris Greta of the Fallen Troop Bracelet venture
OK?
Let me just clarify for those of you who may be reading – - we post news articles of interest here at Right Voices for our readers to enjoy and discuss. Allow me to be very clear . . . just because we post a news article does not mean that we support/condone/authorize or profit from whatever the topic at hand is. Furthermore, if we post a news article – it does not mean that we have personal relationships with the people discussed in said article.
For the families of fallen troops who have sent in emails, allow me to express my wholehearted sorrow for the loss of your loved one. I cannot imagine a more difficult reality. I also understand your plea to have your loved ones names removed from the project. However, please do understand that we are not the creators and/or organizers of the Fallen Troop Bracelet. You found us, most likely, because we are the #1 listing when you do a Google search for “Fallen Troop Bracelet” – however, we are not the organization behind the venture.
Please refer to this site: HeroBracelet.org for information on the true folks behind the project.
My email runneth over! 
Good grief.
Did they even read the thing?
Do you really need to ask that Sasha?
So Lisa- can you do anything about speeding up my order? I had no idea you and Chris were the sellers of the bracelets. Can I get a discount?
3: Well, when you put it that way…
Is this why the comments were shut down last night?
Greetings to all.
We started the HeroBracelet.org project early in December 2004 with the goal of honoring the men and women who have lost thier lives in the service of their country, and to raise money for the families they have left behind.
When I started this project, I saw it as my small contribution to a much bigger issue. I wanted to do something for the troops and their families, and this fit my skills so I just did it. I didnt know who to ask permission of, so I put up the Web site and started sending out a few bracelets a day.
Within two weeks, we were being picked up by all the major papers and quickly started getting orders for hundreds of bracelets a day. We’ve had to scramble to deal with the response but we’ve managed to put systems in place to handle it.
Here’s what we’ve learned from this experience:
1. First and most important is that the troops deployed in the Middle East truly appreciate the fact that we, back here, are paying attention. I’ve had hundreds of email from troops that are very thankful for this project and glad to know Americans are wanting to honor thier friends that have lost their lives.
2. We have had a lot of letters and email from family members that are very thankful for this project and want bracelets to honor their lost sons, daughters, husbands and wives. Talking with these family members is a very humbling experience and something we truly cherish.
3. We’ve learned that there are a lot of amazing people out there that really care about our troops. We get email every day from people wanting to find a way to volunteer to help the troops or their families (and we have many options on our online forum). We’ve also had a lot of people offer to buy bracelets for troops and family. A lawyer in California purchased bracelets for an entire unit currently based in Iraq. The Captain had written me that he had lost six men in his unit and he wanted to order bracelets bearing their names. Out of nowhere, an offer came through to buy them all. This unit is coming home in March to Ft. Hood and we plan on going up there to meet them.
Overall, this has shown that we are a people that care about our warriors. I’ve heard from all sides of the Iraq War issue, and the one thing that everyone agrees on is that these men and women deserve our respect and every effort we can make to make their lives better.
So I’d put this challenge to anyone that reads this.
Do something.
Putting a sticker on your car may be a nice gesture, but it does little more than cover paint (and the sticker was made in China anyway!). Do something beyond that. Send money to the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund, volunteer to send something to the troops. There is a big need for materials and goods in Germany, where the injured troops go right off the battlefield in the dirty, bloody clothes they were wearing when they were hit. There are so many organizations that have popped up to help. Find one and do something. There are many mentioned in the forum at http://www.herobracelets.org. go there and find one that fits what you’d like to do.
If you are living a comfortable life, you owe a debt to the people that helped make it possible.
Chris Greta
http://www.herobracelets.org