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| LIFE IN SOLERA | NOVEMBER 2024 | 41 First, let me say, if you haven't gotten your tickets for the Support Our Troops Musical Extravaganza, you had better hurry. It will be Sun., Nov. 10 at 2 pm. This date is also our United States Marine Corps birthday and the day before Veterans Day. If you would like to donate a raff le basket, or anything suitable for the raff le, call or text Diana Mangan at (951) 333-1986. If you would like a ticket, call Marty Mangan at (909) 921-1144, or martymangan@ yahoo.com, or call Linda Donardt at (951) 845- 9028. I hope to see you there. Now for a couple of current troop items. Once in a while, service members will send me a package with mementos, in thanks for our support. In the almost twenty years of sending care packages, we have collected a number of these items. Some are displayed in my den, and others in my garage. I would love to show them to you. This most recent small package came from the crew of the Coast Guard Cutter, Emlen Tunnell. It contained a baseball style cap, a Velcro patch from their uniform, and a U.S. Coast Guard f lag, that has been signed by the crew. The second bit of news, was a voice from the past. I first became acquainted with SFC Travis Lennon in June of 2012. He is part of an Army Reserve unit from Kansas. On that tour, we supported him and his troops in both Kuwait and Bahrain. After he returned home to Manhattan, Kansas, we stayed in touch, with the occasional email. He often included photos of his family. This continued up until he and his Reserve unit did another tour to Kuwait in 2019. Of course we supported him and his troops again. Now this brings us up to 2024. He notified me that his Kansas unit was back in Kuwait on another tour. He is not with them, because he had just completed a tour at Fort Hunter Liget in California. He gave me a contact person in Kuwait. We have now reached out to this Kansas unit with a package and letter. I am assuming that members of Army Reserve units have a much more liberal number of years that they can serve. Travis is now a Master Sergeant, E-8 and has served 35 years. Thank you for caring. ~ Jesse Donardt SUPPORT OUR TROOPS VETERAN ASSISTANCE FLAG BRIGADE Billy (Mitch) Mitchell is a resident and Veteran who has voluntarily worked with individuals and the Veterans Administration to assist Veterans in obtaining benefits. If you are a Veteran and want to know which benefits you may be eligible for, contact Mitch at (951) 797-0800. There were no occasions in October to raise the Flags. The Flags will be raised in November for Veterans Day, 11/11/2024. Thank you to those few dedicated resident volunteers who are up "at the crack of dawn" on these special days to put up and take down our flags. Contact for the Flag Brigade – Nick Gercis, nick.gercis@gmail.com. Upcoming Flag Schedule: Veterans Day: Sat., Nov. 11; Pearl Harbor Day: Thurs., Dec. 7. To all veterans, THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE!