May 2005 - 5th Battalion 7th Cavalry Association

Dear 5/7 Veterans,My husband and I want to thank you for yourgenerous donations and support of our 5/7 CAVFRG fundraising Golf Tournament on April 30,2005. Your donations enabled us to have a special"5/7 CAV Veterans Assoc. Hole" at the tournamentand added some badly needed funds intoour account. A special thanks to Maury Edmondsand Eddie Ratcliffe for their generousdonations.We had a big downpour but continued on andhad a great time. It is important to mention thatJohn Hummer graciously invited us to be part ofthe fundraising Tournament. John coordinatedthe whole event and worked endlessly to make ita success. We are very grateful and proud to beincluded. John always has the soldiers welfareat heart and works hard to make things happen tobenefit them. Thank you John!Our thanks to each of you who donated to agreat cause. We will use the money donated toour Family Readiness Group (FRG) Fund tohelp with costs incurred by families of KIA,flowers, travel expenses, etc. and to help WIAsoldiers with misc. expenses.Any monies left over will go toward ourWelcome Home Party for our soldiers returningfrom OIFIII next year, to which you areall invited.Thanks so much for your help. Having abond with the 5/7 Cav veterans group means somuch to all of us and we are so gratefulfor everything you have done to show your support!From coming to the Change of Commandand other events important to us, to coming to theMemorial, we are so thankful for you. I promisethat I will never forget those of you who wereable to come to the Memorial for our soldiers inMarch. It meant so much to me having you there,especially since my husband couldn't be thereyourpresence gave me strength. I think it meanta lot to those families as well.Your response to our call for support in sendingschool supplies has been tremendous! Thankyou so much for your generosity in this area!Additionally and very importantly, your prayers,care packages and letters sent to our soldiers area wonderful way to continue to sponsor and supportour Unit as well - these have been great giftsfrom all of you and many soldiers have madecomments about their great sponsors.We will continue trying to raise money forour FRG throughout the year, any amount is veryappreciated. For those of you that would like todonate to our fund, you may send a check madeto 5/7 CAV FRG Fund.Mail to :5/7 CAV FRGc/o Clarissa Petery7 Wynn PlaceFt. Stewart, GA 31315At the time of writing this letter I received acall from my husband who told me that they hadLETTERSan incident with an IBED. Two of our soldierswere injured, one with burns on his hands andface and another soldier with more severe injuries.I was told that one of our fine young lieutenants1LT Ryan Hollin from Delta Troop has"had his boot knocked off with his ankle andfoot still in it". I know you all join us in ourprayers for their recovery. PFC Marvin Hallwas burned from the initial blast on his faceand sustained more severe burns on his handstying the tourniquets on Ryan's leg.My husband said “I went to visit them inICU and was very surprised to see that theywere doing so well. I gave them both coinsand spurs and Ryan displaying a sense of humorhanded me one of the spurs back.......Iasked him how we was doing and he said "I'ma little lighter.”These boys and others like them are exactlythe reason that we will continue to workhard to raise funds for our FRG. Ryan will befighting his next battle at home in Californialearning to walk again. Whatever support wewill be able to give him through this fund willbe helpful.Ryan will be at Walter Reed soon, and ifany of you are in the area, I know he wouldappreciate a visit. At this time I am it is unknownif PFC Hall will stay or go home.Thanks very much for your love and support.God bless, GarryOwen!LTC Petery and ClarissaEddie Ratcliff,I just want to let you know that we allare thankful for the support that you andthe 5/7 CAV Association has shown. Itmotivates me to keep on pushing when Iknow that somebody is in my corner. Iknow that you are tracking our progresshere. I will keep you updated on anychanges. Whenever my R&R comes up, Iwill be sure to pay you a visit. The roadhas not been easy, but I did not expect it tobe. Everyday brings another lesson in theeducation that I am receiving here. It is alot more to learn and time is not a luxury.I will drive on no matter how difficult itgets. Your concern for the soldiers here isenough in itself to keep me motivated.Thanks for everything.Lamarius WorkmanJim Thomas writes:Bill (Greek) Koutrouba successfullycame through a five hour surgery inApril. He was recently confronted withsome major swelling on the right side of hisface, slightly below the ear and under thejaw. Needless to say, everyone was veryconcerned. The doctors had to remove whatlater turned out to be the Pirata gland. Bill’swife informed me that this gland is a salivagland, and for reasons unknown, it wouldnot drain and therefore had to be surgicallyremoved. A follow up biopsy has determinedthat the gland was benign, and soonce again the Greek has walked away fromyet another battle victorious. Suffering fromAgent Orange, and being a diabetic, this isonly half the battle. Now he needs to heal.Bill’s wife, Bernice, is spending most ofher time at the hospital, it would be best ifcalls were avoided for the time being. I willbe in regular contact with Bernice and willbe happy to convey everyone’s wishes. Thefamily would also like to thank everyone fortheir prayers.- 6 -