- April 19, 2024
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Ormond Strong hosts letter writing event for local deployed troops.
When Marcos Cabrera was in the service, there were no phones or Facebook to connect him to the world home. All he had were letters.
“It might even come from someone you don’t know,” Cabrera said. “I’ve met people who kept relationships with strangers that wrote them letters. Letters are important because it will always be with the soldiers no matter where they are.”
Cabrera was one of the many people who attended Ormond Strong’s Letter to Soldiers event Saturday at the Ormond Beach Regional Library. He said that even with the internet, the letters still serve a great purpose.
“It not only helps the soldiers over there,” he said, “it helps with the family members with loved ones being far away. It’s people helping people.”
Nataliana Sacks’ joined Ormond Strong after her husband’s National Guard unit deployed to Afghanistan in March. The two got married during a four-day break in June, and plan to have a big Disney wedding when he returns in a year.
“Disney, church and the Miami Dolphins are our big things,” Sacks laughed. “Austin actually found out about Ormond Strong and told me I had to meet up with them. This is my first time being a military wife, and I’m also new to the town, so I wanted to show my appreciation to my husband and those men and women who are overseas.”
Sacks participates in the daily morning walks the group does to mark how many days the troop has been deployed.
“I use it as a therapy to get my mind off at things,” Sacks said. “I have to keep my mind off worrying about him out there. Often people that it’s just us looking at calendars and counting down the days, but more importantly we support our husbands. It’s a waiting games, but we still look for ways to strengthen our marriages and our communities. You are a wife and a community activist.”
Sacks said the letters help the troops — and her husband — tremendously.
“It brings them back to reality, that people are thinking about them and that American isn’t just moving on,” she said. “It really connects them. We say we miss them, but we also talk to them about regular things that things.”
Sacks’ husband, who is currently a D-4 specialist, also works at the local post office. She said that people don’t really know who’s deployed in town or not, and it’s important to keep up with that information.
Your neighbor might be deployed right now,” Sacks said. “Help support the team. I always tell people I didn’t wake up one day and just want to marry into the military. It’s the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do, but everyday is a blessing. It makes me so much prouder of our country. Support your troops to the fullest. It’s an amazing thing what they’re doing. They don’t have to be there. There is a choice.”
Cabrera said he joined Ormond Strong for his daughter, who’s currently working in channel communications, and for the other military veterans he’s friends with. He served in the army for 20 years, and his daughter has served for 18 years.
“This group here is working out very good,” he said. “I have seen the people who come to join us on a walk once and they all come back.”
What is Ormond Strong?
Ormond Strong is a non profit, whose mission is to support the over 200 soldiers from Volusia, Flagler, and surrounding counties who deployed for the one year mission to Afghanistan. The group participates in a daily vigil “bridge walk” every morning at 7:15 a.m. at the south west entrance of the Granada Bridge across from the Ormond Beach Regional Library. Visit ormondstrong.com for more info. So far the group has been walking 123 consecutive days.
