Let troops know you care by sending a USO valentine

Not even oceans can keep the appreciation Americans have for their troops from reaching those who are defending their country worlds away.

On a day that celebrates love, the USO wants local men and women serving overseas to remember that.

Handing out blank "thank-you" postcards featuring the "Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas" sign, the American flag and red hearts, the nonprofit drew attention of passers-by on the Strip pn Friday afternoon.

"We're sending postcards to the troops," called out USO Las Vegas Center Director Tim Mullin into the crowds at the Grand Bazaar Shops. The postcards will be sent to locally deployed troops from Nellis and Creech Air Force Bases, he explained.

A few hours into the three-day operation, called "Share the Love," about $100 had been donated to the organization and at least that many postcards had been deposited into the oversized red, white and blue mailbox facing Las Vegas Boulevard.

Sara Sage, of Santa Barbara, Calif., stood in the warm sun, writing her personal note that read, "Thank you for all that you do, and we owe everything that we have to you guys."

"Honestly, everything that the troops do for us, they don't get nearly enough credit," she said.

Her friend Matt Demarus felt compelled to stop to write, because one of their best friends recently joined the Navy.

"If we can do anything to help them, we might as well just try," Demarus said.

That idea was echoed by Ben and Rebecca Desormeaux.

Ben Desormeaux has served in the Air Force for 14 years and is stationed at Edwards Air Force Base in California. Although he's never been deployed overseas, he and his wife empathize with military families.

"We're a military family, so we know when someone leaves, it's very hard," Rebecca Desormeaux said. "I'm grateful as his wife, because I know he's been in safe locations. It's always dangerous, but where a lot of troops are now, I know it's a huge sacrifice."

For another wife of an airmen, local woman Shay Collins, the project also hit close to home.

"My husband is in Korea right now," she said. Formerly stationed at Nellis Air Force Base, he has served in the military for 16 years.

"I just want them to know that we appreciate their service."

It's estimated that 220,000 troops are currently deployed. There are more than 32,000 active duty troops based in Southern Nevada.

The USO will accept postcards Saturday and Sunday from noon to 5 p.m. at the entrance of the Grand Bazaar Shops on the Strip.

— Contact Kimberly De La Cruz at kdelacruz@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0381. Find her on Twitter: @KimberlyinLV