America Supports You: WWE Taking Milestone Letter to Troops in Iraq

By Samantha L. Quigley
American Forces Press Service

NEW YORK, Nov. 22, 2006 – As World Wrestling Entertainment superstars and divas prepare for a fourth trip to visit servicemembers in Iraq, they’ll be carrying some special cargo: a very important letter.

WWE celebrities will deliver the 2.6 millionth thank you letter collected by A Million Thanks, a troop-support organization based in Orange, Ca, to the troops in Iraq.

That letter marks a milestone for Shauna Fleming, 17, founder of “A Million Thanks,” a California-based nonprofit troop-support group with an original goal of collecting 1 million letters of gratitude for troops. Shauna surpassed that goal two years ago, and in January 2006, her goal expanded.

“(Shauna) wants to make sure our military members get thank you notes from the American people, and she’s collected 2.6 million thank you notes, one for every man and woman in the military,” Allison Barber, deputy assistant secretary of defense for internal communication and public liaison, said during a news conference yesterday at Madison Square Garden here. “WWE will take the 2.6 millionth letter over to Iraq … and present that to our military members.”

WWE and A Million Thanks are both members of America Supports You, a Defense Department program highlighting ways Americans and the corporate sector support the nation’s servicemembers.

WWE is encouraging the public’s continued support of servicemembers through holiday greetings through A Million Thanks, WWE spokesman Gary Davis said. The organization also is accepting electronic submission of greetings through its Web site. The messages will be printed on a special holiday card and distributed during the group’s upcoming visit to Iraq.