Hawai'i support a call away for troops in Iraq
By Karen Blakeman
Advertiser Staff Writer
Families of Hawai'i reservists have sold enough magnets and T-shirts to send 105 phone cards to O'ahu members of the 411th Engineer Battalion in Iraq.
Naumu
Now they're raising money to make sure soldiers from the Neighbor Islands can call home, too.
"People have been really happy to support us," said Laurie Naumu, wife of Spc. Michael Naumu, an O'ahu carpenter and one of 400 Hawai'i reservists deployed to Iraq with the 411th. "I don't think a lot of people realized that Hawai'i guys are deployed."
To help the soldiers of the 411th Engineer Battalion, contact Laurie Naumu at lnaumu@hotmail.com or Leinaala Kanana at lkanana@hotmail.com.
More than 600 members of the Army Reserve and the National Guard have been called to active duty and are serving in Iraq. More are serving in Afghanistan.
How to help
The 411th families' next fund-raiser will be 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. July 3 at Wal-Mart in Mililani.
They'll be selling the popular ribbon-shaped magnets and T-shirts decorated with yellow ribbon designs. The $12 T-shirts have "Support our Troops" slogans and "411 Engineering Battalion." The magnets have slogans "Pray for Our Troops" and "Freedom Isn't Free." They come in two sizes and sell for $4 and $5.
