This is letter number one from Joy Bates of San Jose CA

Hello friends,
Merry Christmas, and happy holidays to all

I would like to add to the loving message below and share my thoughts with you today. I have remained silent, mostly in continuous shock at what has occured, and so simply waited, believing fully that at any moment, those in charge would realize what a terrible mistake they've made and how wrong they are to confine these heroes even a day more. As the days stretched into months, I have been completely confused and appalled at the circumstances in which the men and their families now find themselves. I am a long-time friend to one of the Marine's mentioned below. I have know him since the day he was born, and his parents are two of my closest friends in the world. I know all the family to have the finest of characters.

I learned with horror of the plight of these young men as we all held our collective breath for them to return home safely after such a long, hard sacrifice for all of us. As the media, along with some biased politicians, used the group to capitalize on other current issues, these boys had to suffer the agony of not only not returning home to their families, but being ripped back to America, the home of the FREE and the BRAVE, as prisoners, and not welcomed as our beloved heroes, as they deserved.

Their families, friends have endured over the past several years, holding strong for their beloved young men to return, to give them once again love, shelter and comfort, after three tours of duty to protect all of us. Yet, instead, they were given handcuffs and chains, and thrown into solitary confinement, given poor to no medical treatment, and had it announced to the world that they were somehow already guilty, before even having a chance to speak. Instead of a heroes' welcome, they were returned home and treated as criminals, before any charges were even presented, before having legal counsel, and without the ability to even communicate with their families.<\p>

I have visited our hero in the brig. It is a striking irony to be sitting across from our heroes in a confined situation, within the very military base from which they learned to go to war and fight for our enemies, and having done so, then be accused and prejudged of crimes for which they had not been able to refute, and then to look up at a banner on the wall that reads: WELCOME HOME...this banner in plain view of the brave young men sitting at long tables, allowed only a brief time with those who love them.

I am so agonized that, because many do not understand the entire situation, they may judge prematurely what has happened. Of course, we do not know all the facts, just as the letter below mentions. However, what we do know is this:

Our brave heros who are sitting in jail now are the ones the military trained and accepted and we ALL asked to go fight, to help save lives, both at home and abroad, and to learn how to defeat an enemy who wants us all in America to DIE. These same heroes were placed in harms way, and as young men, did all they could to try to stay alive.

I recall that my particular hero is one who joined the military after awakening at just such a time as this, Christmas time, and, having had a dream, wrote a letter to his mother, expressing why he wanted to join the Marines. He know her heart would break for him to go, even as he knew she and his father would support him. By way of explanation, he told her that he HAD to do something. He knew he HAD to serve, to go DEFEND, and to go help PROTECT us...you and me, my friends. Our brother, then barely grown up, had a vision, and OFFERED to risk his life, as have all these other fine young men and women. WE CANNOT JUDGE their actions in a time of war, nor do we have all the facts.

As the loving message written below said, they have not been convicted of a crime and they have loving families who have attested that these men are not flight risks.

The only flights they've taken were to GO INTO danger, not to flee from it. No different from those brave men and women who fought 911, they headed toward the problem and didn't back away. They rose to the occassion and didn't hesitate. They did so with passion and love. They stiffled their own fears and discomfort to say YES, I WANT TO GO!!!!!!! Now, we cannot let them down.

THEY FOUGHT FOR US, AND LIVED. NOW WE MUST FIGHT FOR THEM. WE MUST PRAY FOR THEM, AND HELP THEM TO LIVE THEIR LIVES AGAIN. WE MUST NOT BE SILENT!!!

As Christmas approaches, I have been inspired from my own heart to ask all of you, their friends, families, brothers and sisters in Christ, and all religions, and MARINES, who are their own adopted brothers and sisters, as well, to take 5 or 10 minutes, and stand up for your brothers, as a show of support, of thanks, and of RIGHTEOUS OUTCRY to LET OUR HERO BROTHERS GO!!!!! LET OUR HEROES GO HOME FOR CHRISTMAS!! LET THEM LIVE THEIR LIVES OUTSIDE OF FOUR WALLS. They all deserve it. They have NOT been found guilty, and all they did warrants our immediate attention. Let them await their hearing with their families.

Please, as your gift at Christmas to the young men being held since May after serving OUR country in battle, on December 23rd, at exactly 7PM, Pacific Standard Time (Cal ifornia). gather everyone you can around you, go outside, and have each person light a candle for these men. Let your light shine, around the world. Send this message to everyone you know to do the same. Many of us have friends and family all over the country, and some in other parts of the world. Please, share this e-mail, and this event and ask them to help. These men deserve nothing less, and everything more.

Every group should take a brief video or capture on a camera, or cell phone, and send this to either/or both your local news station, and your local lawmakers. SHOUT OUT THAT WE CARE, and WE PROTEST THE CAPTIVITY of our HEROES!! They deserve better treatment than our enemies...those we sent them to fight.

In the spirit of Christmas, and all that is right in the world, I ask all of you...and also you Marines, please, in your own vernacular, ALWAYS FAITHFUL .....please, remember your brothers and take a stand for them. There are so many of you.

I know that this is a busy time, but what better can we do than to give from our hearts, especially now. These men will not be allowed "comfort items" for Christmas/holidays. Our brave heroes will be alone. Let's show them they are not...in a big way.

Thank you in advance for those who read this, and for the hearts who are brave enough to show they care. If it seems uncomfortable, or you aren't sure, or you may be reluctant, try to recall every day of their time of bravery, and sacrifice given for each of us..then, please, take a leap of faith, of support, of thanks, to these men, and the others held there, as well, and gather your loved ones, friends, and neighbors, and just step outside, and each one light a candle for a few minutes, along with many others. Let them know you are there for them, and that you care.

As the LIGHT OF THE WORLD is remembered and honored this Christmas, let us also let our light shine, in honor of HIM, but also of these others who loved us enough to stand up for us, and keep our own home lights burning safely here at home, despite their own discomfort. Let your light shine for all the troops, for all being held, and in particular, please let it shine in agreement that these young men in pretrial confinement be released to go home, at the very least to be allowed to await trial with their families.

May you all be richly blessed in your lives, and thank you for your courage and your time to help. I am praying for a Christmas miracle.

Joy Bates

This is letter number two from the best friend the Marine Corps ever had, "TMP Ren"

Hello my friends ~
This email is NOT a forwarded joke, nor an amusing little story. This is a letter that comes from my heart and I realize is a bit lengthy; but I ask that you please take the time to read it in it's entirety as I believe it is of the utmost importance!!

As most of you know, my family and I have supported the Marines of 3/5 over the past few years (in a number of ways) and in general, have opened our home to any and all Marines. Our door is always open to the guys and they know they can call on us any time, day or night... 24 hours a day, if they need anything at all; and I can honestly and happily say that many a Marine has taken us up on this offer!

During this last deployment we realized another need and expanded our support to directly include the families of our Marines. When I presented this idea to my peers and coworkers the enthusiasm was overwhelming and thanks to the variety of ways help was offered, we were afforded the opportunity to support over 300 Marines and dozens of families in numerous ways; it was truly amazing! Without the kindness and generosity given by many in our community, we would have never been able to accomplish all we have so far; and for that, we are thankful to all who have given so selflessly.

Out of curiosity I looked up the definition of the word support and this is what I found...
"To uphold", "to back", "to advocate" and/or "to champion."
"These verbs mean to give aid or encouragement to a person or cause."
To Uphold is to maintain or affirm in the face of a challenge or strong opposition.
To Back suggests material or moral support intended to contribute to or assure success.
To Advocate implies verbal support, often in the form of pleading or arguing.
To Champion is to fight for one that is under attack or is unable to act in its own behalf.
Well, this definition pretty much sums up what we have done in the past, what we do presently, and what we will continue to do in the future, we support our Marines... your Marines!

Presently, we are focusing our support on four very deserving Marines and their families; Lcpl. Rob Pennington, Cpl. Marshall Magincalda, Cpl. Trent Thomas and Sgt. Larry Hutchins. They and their families are very near and dear to our hearts; these are our friends... our family!! As most of you know, over the past several months these four Marines have been confined to the Brig in "pretrial confinement", and they continue to be. If you have ever had a family member or friend in Iraq, Vietnam or any foreign war then you know that there is always more to a story than what the media reports. None of us know the true details surrounding the situation these Marines now find themselves in, and quite honestly... we do not need to know the details. What everyone needs to know is that these Marines and their families need our support; and they need it NOW!!! Many of us have assisted in raising funds to help defer the mounting legal costs (which continue to raise) for these men. But all funds raised so far have gone directly to defense fund accounts for legal costs, which is fine, as this was the intention. Our focus now, is the families of these Marines.

All four of these Marines have now passed their EAS (End of Active Service) dates and according to the USMC they no longer qualify for pay status; so the USMC has stopped ALL of their pay! They have been convicted of nothing, are being held against their will, and are not being paid. There is a payroll manual that applies to all service members which states in effect that those who pass their discharge date but are in jail will no longer be paid. That was intended to mean those convicted of a crime shall not be paid, not those awaiting trial. This pretrial confinement they are experiencing is so unprecedented the payroll manual does not address it.

The many attempts by their families and their attorneys to rectify this have been futile and the final word is that there is no way to change the men's pay status back... their EAS dates have passed and there is nothing that can or will be done to change this. PLEASE remember... these men are detainees... they have not even gone to trial and will not do so until well into 2007!

So... as the saying goes... it is time to "pay it forward" my friends! If anyone has ever done a kind act for you or a loved one, it's time to pay it forward and do the same for another family. And if not, wouldn't this be the perfect time to start a new tradition!

These men have been able to support themselves and their families over the past four years; but now, with EAS dates passing and all pay having been stopped, they have no income while they are forced to sit in the Brig awaiting trial. Rent and utilities still need to be paid, children still need to be clothed and fed, vehicles still need gas; and these men MUST be able to focus on their defense and not have to stress and worry about how their families will carry on.

Can you imagine sitting in the same small room 22/23 hours a day and the ONLY time you have any contact with anyone outside is during a specifically designated two hour time period on the weekend. Four hours of visitation a week... that is all they are allowed. These men need to be able to see and/or talk with their families and loved ones; and the families need to be able to see and/or talk with their Marine!

The costs involved just to visit the guys weekly adds up very quickly. My daughters and I go to base every Saturday and Sunday to visit the guys and we spend over $200.00 every month putting gas in our vehicles just for our visits; and we are only about 35 to 45 minutes from the Brig. Two of the wives and their toddlers have been driving well over an hour to come visit their husbands every weekend. And the families of the other two men are not even in the area; one family is in Central/Northern California and the family of the other Marine lives out of state. So, needless to say, these families can not come and visit often as they would like, as the vast majority of their funds are going to the defense efforts. Their visits are few and far between so communication is limited to very expensive telephone calls when possible.

Lets show these Marines and their families how much we care and support them!!!!!!

Please add these families to your "Christmas" lists! Lets all make them a priority this holiday season...
Your support can be shown in any number of ways... the quickest would obviously be to send a donation (we have even set up a paypal account for simplicity sake)... or, be creative... maybe a gift card to a grocery store, Target, Wal Mart, Costco, or maybe a gas station gift card to help defer driving expenses. Or how about helping a mom or dad to come see their son... Help us purchase plane tickets! Or, if you have frequent flyer miles accrued, consider switching them into the name of one of the family members that live so far away so they might come and visit their son this holiday season. Most of you know what it is like to go months without seeing your husband or son. For those of you who have a son or husband in the Marines, I ask that you ponder this thought... What would you have given to see your son or husband while he was in Iraq, even if only for a few hours; to be able to just give him one more hug and tell him how much you love him?? Lets help these mom's and dad's to be able to come and hug their sons; what a perfect Christmas gift that would be!!! I realize that asking you to donate "flyer miles" is asking a lot, but these men have given a lot... for our country, our freedom, and for our families; so please, it's time we give to them!!! Pay it forward my friends... pay it forward!!!

If you are a Marine (once a Marine, always a Marine!) please consider sending a donation to support your fellow Marines, and please discuss this support effort with every Marine you know; let them know that we have four Marines being detained, with no pay, and no way to support their families. It could very well have been any one of you who found themselves sitting in that brig instead of them... so let's help them out!!

Any gift cards, checks, gifts, or well wishes can be sent to me, and my family and I will deliver everything to the families. If you have any questions or are interested in supporting our Marine families, please contact me ASAP through one of my marine mom email accounts...tmpmarinemom@cox.net or tmpkilomom@cox.net

Finally, I am asking that you please forward this email to as many people as you can. We need to show these families that there are MANY, MANY proud Americans out here that support them!!!

Thank you for your support of our Marines and their families! God Bless America and God Bless our Marines!!!

Wishing you all a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays, wherever you may be this time of year...
Karen "Ren" Morey
AKA... TMP (The Mother Person)