Towns unite to help mom of wounded local soldier

I really want you to think about the people of these two towns. A week after Spc. Jeremy Pierce was wounded in a blast serving in Iraq, they have already come together to try to help his mother. This is what makes us really show we do care and do support the men and women serving this nation. The people of these two towns are what makes this country so great.

The rest of the people you know sending out chains of emails fueling hatred for the other side, spreading lies, paying no attention at all to what they can really do to make this nation better, do not deserve your attention at all. These are the people trying to make a difference in this country and this is the kind of email you should forward if you get one. Otherwise, send them a copy of it and start to direct their energy into something positive for a change.

Towns unite to help mom of wounded local soldier
CapiLynn

August 19, 2009
Tragedies always bring out the best in small communities, and here's another example.



Residents of Mehama and Lyons are planning a benefit concert for the family of Spc. Jeremy Pierce, the Oregon Army National Guard soldier who was severely wounded last week in Iraq.

The soldier's mother, Samantha Jones, lives in Mehama and works in Lyons, both east of Salem. The two communities, separated by the North Santiam River and the Marion-Linn county line, really are one.

"Everybody knows her," said Daryl Stroschine, who is helping organize the concert that will be held 1 to 5 p.m. Saturday at John Neal Memorial County Park. "We're a close-knit community."

He's been receiving updates from Jones, who on Tuesday was at her son's bedside at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C. She will be there for the foreseeable future, as Jeremy faces multiple surgeries on his wounds.

"Samantha is back there who knows how long," Stroschine said. "We're just trying to make sure she can pay her bills and not worry about it."
read more here
Towns unite to help mom of wounded local soldier