Lisa Texeira, left, and Virginia Brown say public access television will incorporate messages into DVDs to be aired or kept private. Christie Wilson • The Honolulu Advertiser

The project is being coordinated by the Maui Family Readiness Group, largely comprising families with members who were deployed in January with the Army Reserve's 411th Engineer Battalion and aren't due back until mid-2005. Thirty-seven Maui soldiers were deployed from that unit; there are a number of other Maui families with relatives in other military units serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Lisa Texeira and Virginia Brown said they are able to keep in regular contact with their husbands via cellular phones, letters and e-mail. In civilian life, Army Reserve Sgt. Christopher Texeira, 37, is a tour bus driver and a downhill bicycle tour cruise leader; Sgt. 1st Class Clement Brown, 52, and his wife manage the 352-unit Harbor Lights condominium in Kahului.

"O'ahu has a distinct advantage over Maui," they said. "There are military bases, housing, medical centers, commissary and PX facilities, memorials galore, military appreciation days, merchant discounts for military families and many other resources. In other words, military presence is a way of life.

"On Maui, we have to try a lot harder to gain support for our military families within the community, simply because many do not know we exist."

The personal messages taped by the military families will be mixed with video footage from Maui Family Readiness Group events such as a recent Mother's Day softball game and potluck. The messages and events will be incorporated into a DVD format.

Sean McLaughlin, head of Akaku, said families will have the option of airing their messages on Akaku or keeping them a private correspondence.

The Maui Family Readiness Group has been holding weekly fund-raisers and special events.

Texeira and Brown said they were caught off-guard by the Army Reserve deployment and never dreamed their husbands would land in a war zone. But they said the family group's activities keep them from dwelling on the danger facing the soldiers.

"You have no time to get depressed," said Texeira, a jury clerk with the state judiciary. "You don't focus on the 365 days (they are to serve in Iraq); you look at one day at a time."

She said her biggest concern is her children, Brittany, 14, Precious, 7, and 1-year-old Blaize. "You try to keep their morale up and always keep their hopes at a high level," Texeira said.

Brown, who married her husband six months ago after they learned of the deployment, said the toughest part for her is "keeping all the bases covered and having to do my full-time job and his, and stay involved with the rest of the family."