Thirty-eight soccer balls can now be seen being kicked around the rural town of Ad Dujayl, Iraq, thanks to the efforts of one local soldier, several Odessa residents and the United States Army.
    Katie Macmillion said her husband, Lt. Col. Reed Macmillion, was deployed to Iraq in March andsoon after began a drive for items Iraqi children could use.
    “My husband had written an email and said soccer is huge over there and the kids love soccer balls,” Katie said.
    Katie said Michael Shearon, a neighbor who has helped the Macmillion family in Reed’s absence, found a way to help.
    Shearon contacted Mark Manniso, president of Newark-based Forte Sports, Inc., who purchased soccer balls. Manniso promised to donate the balls to the Dover Colonial Rotary Club, of which Shearon is a member, if the rotary made a monetary donation to Water is Life – Kenya, a charity Manniso supports.
    “In return, Mark gave the rotary club 38 soccer balls,” Katie said, “which the rotary club donated to Iraq.”
    She said her daughter Mary collected notebooks, pens, pencils and other school supplies through her Brownie Troop 747.
    “They brought to the meeting things that I see American children taking for granted,” Katie said. “They packed them all up in a box and wrote cards to the children. To the Iraqi kids, it’s spectacular to have a notebook or a pen.”
    She said the New Castle County Department of Land Use also collected donations.
    “I was just thrilled that he had this opportunity to do this,” she said. “It really makes you feel good.
    “People here feel helpless in a sense. Rather than continuingly sending him care packages and cookies, they want to do more,” Katie said. “This was a way to meet that need.”
    All of the donations were sent to Reed in Iraq.
    On Oct. 4, Reed delivered the soccer balls and school supplies to children.
    He stated in an email message that the trip was one of hundreds of U.S. coalition and Iraqi Army Humanitarian Assistance visits.
    “Humanitarian missions are our effort to help as many Iraqis as possible in a non-combat manner,” Reed stated. “The HA visits are part of the Army’s stabilization operations in Iraq, although we still have active military engagements from time to time when encountering al Qaeda (and other terrorists) in Iraq.”
    “There were approximately 80 children present, whose ages ranged from 5 to 12 years,” he stated. “The Iraqi Army Soldiers selected many young boys who had fathers killed during the sectarian violence. The young boys were escorted up to the Army vehicle and I handed them a ball. It was very moving.”
    His unit, the 55th Sustainment Brigade, is sponsoring the renovation of a soccer field in the town.
    “As part of the renovation project, we have been supplying soccer jerseys and balls to the young children and adults to help get their minds off their current economic condition, which is very poor,” Reed stated.
    He stated four types of soccer jerseys were given out to the children to make up four teams and along with several soccer balls, they created a make-shift youth tournament.
    “The boys had a great time,” Reed stated. “In addition, several young girls ages 4 to 10 were watching the boys play and several Beanie Baby toys were handed out to the young girls.
    “These children live in a very poor area of Iraq and the soccer balls, jerseys, toys and school supplies helped bring many smiles,” he stated. “It was uplifting and I felt proud to be an American soldier able to deliver the goods donated by so many other good-hearted Americans back home. I can tell you that out of this tour of duty, I will most remember this HA visit and the many smiles on the children’s faces.”
    Reed is scheduled to return home to Odessa next month.