By Mark Platte
Advertiser Assistant Managing Editor-News

Like many newspapers and television stations across the country, we wanted to put a local face each day on the war in Iraq and created "Aloha Troops" to spotlight a Hawai'i military person involved in the conflict.

Aunties wrote in to brag about their family members. Proud moms and dads sent photos and stories, pouring their hearts into the articles.

Military men and women e-mailed articles about themselves and their units from the war zone.

Cpl. Cory M. Jim, third from left, sent this photo from Iraq, where he is deployed with the Kane'ohe-based 4th Force Reconnaissance Company. His companions are, from left, Cpl. Frank Prinea, Lance Cpl. Thomas Callaghan, Cpl. Brian Baugh, Sgt. Donald Serrao and Cpl. Ryan Legaspi. Photo courtesy Cpl. Cory Jim

Kathie and Frank Earhart are good examples. Their only child is in Iraq with the 4th Force Reconnaissance Company from Kane'ohe, and he is the fourth generation to serve his country. They have served in every conflict since World War I. Frank, on active duty with the Navy for 26 years, and Kathie were glued to the television hoping to learn some news of Brandon, but because 4th Force Recon's mission is highly classified, they heard little. So the Earharts did the only thing they knew to do: support their son by writing an "Aloha Troops" entry.

"When it ran in the paper, people from all over the Naval Base were calling us about the article," Kathie wrote recently. "Families from the school I teach at were bringing me their cut-out articles on Brandon to keep — the outpouring of love and support we received was tremendous."

Kathie e-mailed the newspaper link to everyone in her address book that included friends living at bases throughout the United States and Europe, and many people wrote back.

"The entire experience was like a huge circle that circumferenced the world with love for our troops," she wrote us recently. "I sent Brandon a copy of the article and he said he cried when he read it, knowing the public was supporting the troops."

The Kailua parents of Lance Cpl. Stephen J. Shewell got much the same reaction.

Stephen is an air traffic control radar technician assigned to MACS-1, Det. B, out of Miramar in California. He is serving in Kuwait and Iraq.

"We couldn't go anywhere without running into someone who had read the article," Stephen's dad, Dennis, wrote us. "We sent the clipping from the newspaper and the Web site to Stephen. The funny part is that even before he received the articles from us he got a copy from his staff sergeant. Somehow his staff sergeant's wife, who lives in California, found the article on the Internet and mailed it to her husband. When Stephen contacted us a couple of weeks ago he was really surprised and happy about the article."

Cpl. Cory M. Jim also is with 4th Force Recon in Iraq. He is a big fan of our feature.

"Along with the other 30 or so Marines from Hawai'i, we are highly appreciative of The Advertiser for running an 'Aloha Troops' feature. Every time an article is published, we hear about it and it makes us feel appreciated for serving our country, to know that someone out there cares about us, and our safe return back home."

Even though Cpl. Jim has been featured in "Aloha Troops," he submitted another picture of his unit taken last month outside Baghdad International Airport next to a portrait of Saddam Hussein.

Though we planned to discontinue "Aloha Troops" when the conflict ended, submissions continue to come in and so far we've published nearly 100 articles.

We will continue to run "Aloha Troops" on our military page on Mondays but will develop a new feature soon on Page B1 called "Aloha Neighbors," which spotlights people in Hawai'i who do good turns for others. Maybe someone who cuts the grass for an elderly neighbor. Or a student who volunteers his or her time to tutor another. Or a person who uses his or her free time to help out a single mom with her large family. You can e-mail your submissions (with photos) to alohaneighbors@honoluluadvertiser.com or write to Aloha Neighbors, News Department, 605 Kapiolani Blvd., Honolulu, HI 96813.