Sending off some love for Marines

Miniature bottles of soap, toothbrushes in neon green, blue and red, toys, white-cotton socks and candy were heaped in rows and tossed into cardboard boxes as teenage girls went through the twisting, never-ending lines preparing care packages for the 1st Marines division troops in Afghanistan.

Inside each care package, a red or pink hand-written card with cutout hearts and sticker Cupids decorating the front wished a Marine a Happy Valentine’s Day. National Charity League Inc. put together more than 2,000 care packages for the 1st Division Marines Sunday for its third annual Operation Valentine.

“Mail call is the best thing in the world, and it isn’t so much what is inside, but that someone is thinking about you,” said Col. Willard Buhl, the commanding officer of the 5th Marine Regiment.

Nearly 800 teenage girls and their mothers from all over Orange County, including Newport Beach’s chapter, descended on Camp Pendleton to assemble the packages and learn a little about the Marines.

The National Charity League is a national nonprofit organization that brings daughters in middle and high school together with their moms to better the community.

“It’s just wonderful helping the troops and sending the care packages,” said Tracy Steward, a mom and member of Pacific Coast, the Huntington Beach chapter.

The organization also donated 99 Cent Store gift cards and $15,000 to the families of the troops abroad.

Newport chapter member Carly Searcy, 13, participated last year and said she enjoys helping out. Carly said her favorite part is making the cards and thanking the troops for everything they do.

Some of the older Marines were surprised by the outpouring of support and were “wowed” by the number of teenage girls who were willing to give up their Sunday for them.

1st Marine Division Family Readiness Program Coordinator Bill Durdin said when he served in Vietnam there was no support for the troops. “From never getting this support ... to finally having it is just incredible,” Durdin said.

The American people’s feelings for U.S. troops changed after 9/11, Buhl said. Since then it became commonplace for Americans to write letters of support to military, send care packages, and Californian cities have started adopting Marines.

“I think the mood of the country is different than it was, and I think people are more aware of what our freedom costs,” said Sen. Mimi Walters, a guest speaker at the event.