Gift from the heart

Photo By Master Sgt. Michele Hammonds | 1st TSC Chaplain (Col.) Chester H. Lanious, right, holds up a Psalm 91 bandana as Master Sgt. Yolanda Jackson, a chaplain assistant looks at it. Tina Patterson, wife of Lt. Col. Richard Patterson shipped 1500 bandanas to the unit that is deployed to Kuwait, although 500 of the shipment arrived earlier this month.  

CAMP ARIFJAN, KUWAIT

10.29.2007

Story by Master Sgt. Michele Hammonds 

1st Theater Sustainment Command

By MSG Michele Hammonds
1st Sustainment Command (Theater)


CAMP ARIFJAN, Kuwait – One woman wanted to give a gift from the heart that would provide encouragement to Soldiers of the 1st Sustainment Command (Theater).

Tina Patterson, wife of Lt. Col. Richard Patterson, came up with the idea of providing an ACU (Army Combat Uniform) bandana with Psalm 91 inscribed on it to every 1st TSC Soldier deployed to Kuwait.

"I saw a sample of the bandanas at Village Baptist Church in Fayetteville, and I was told to call Mary Gray, (an entrepreneur)," said Tina Patterson in an email. "I got in contact with her and decided that every Soldier who went forward (Kuwait) with the 1st TSC deserved to have one."

Excited at the prospect that the bandanas would be well received by Soldiers in her husband's unit, she set out on a mission to raise $1,500 – the cost of 500 bandanas. While her husband, Richard Patterson, 41, a Fayetteville resident deployed to Kuwait to head up the 1st TSC Public Affairs Office, Tina Patterson, 37, back at Fort Bragg with their children, networked with people to raise money to pay for the bandanas.

"I sent out a letter to family, friends, church members, and the Disabled American Veteran Auxiliary (the spouses of Disabled Veterans) asking for donations to cover the cost of getting enough bandanas for every Soldier," said Tina Patterson by email. "Donations (came) from family, friends, the Disabled American Veterans organization and Saint James Lutheran Church."

Tina Patterson, a native of Fayetteville, N.C., purchased the bandanas, through a program at Village Baptist Church that raises money, with Gray, who coordinates with various chaplains on Fort Bragg to send them (bandanas) overseas to U.S. Soldiers serving in the Middle East.

Family, friends, church members and others from the Fort Bragg and Fayetteville community helped Tina Patterson prepare the bandanas for shipment.

"Once I raised the money, several friends from Village Baptist Church helped Mary and me fold about 1500 bandanas for other Soldiers, and she gave me the 500 bandanas for the 1st TSC. I took them to the post office and mailed them to Chaplain Lanious," said Tina Patterson.

Shipments of the bandanas arrived at the 1st TSC chaplain's office in early October.

"Lt. Col. Patterson's wife wanted to supply us with those bandanas. When she had finished the project, she sent them to me rather than to him (Richard Patterson) because the bandanas are an item that chaplains generally hand out," said 1st TSC Chaplain (Col.) Chester H. Lanious. "They have a spiritual message that's highly valued by most soldiers. The bandanas are a reminder of God's watchful care and keeping, and is also a reminder of home – kind of a promise that says, 'I will return home safely."

Lanious and his chaplain staff have began distributing the Psalm 91 bandanas to 1st TSC Soldiers.
"The bandanas with Psalm 91 inscribed have become a valuable item for distribution by chaplains," said Lanious, 59 of Carlisle, Pa. "There are a number of sources who supply those bandanas to the chaplaincy. The XVIII Airborne Corps Chaplain's office provided bandanas for us when we were deploying in June. There were a number of people who have deployed since that time. Some of those Soldiers had indicated that they did not get a bandana and so, Lt. Col. Patterson's wife thought this would be a great project for the FSG (family support group) ... and she had the contact in the rear. It came to us a surprise and a very welcome thing to distribute to the Soldiers."

Sgt. 1st Class Clayton Outlaw, of the Special General Staff section of the 1st TSC, was happy when he found out a shipment of bandanas had just arrived.

"Psalm 91 is a very unique psalm; it has quite a bit of meaning to it. It means a lot to me. I heard the chaplain say, 'you should keep it on your person every day,'" said Outlaw, a 41 year old Pensacola, Fla., native. "That is a scripture I read before I come to work every day. Psalm 91 ... is a protection prayer. You read that ... and you feel like you are safe before you come to work."

Outlaw, who received a Psalm 91 bandana right before deploying to Kuwait in June, plans to surprise his mother with a bandana.

"I wanted to send one to my mother. She would be pleased to see that particular scripture is on that bandana," he said.

Instead of providing support just to her husband, Richard, as she waits for his safe return home, Tina Patterson wanted to make a difference in the lives of other 1st TSC Soldiers. After sending 500 bandanas, she sent an additional 900 bandanas.

"Everyone in the TSC can receive a bandana and as new people arrive we will continue to have bandanas for them," said Lanious who has served as an Army chaplain for 23 years. "Everyone who is a part of the 1st TSC will be able to say that they have bandanas. This expression of love and care from home is a very strong, palpable thing that reminds us that we have people waiting for us, we are constantly in their prayers, and that our safety is on their minds."

For Tina Patterson, 1st TSC Soldiers have a special place in her heart and not just because she is married to one.

"I'm very excited that the chaplain has a bandana for every 1st TSC Soldier," said Tina via email. "They deserve them for the wonderful hard work they do. I pray every day that every Soldier is protected and returns home safe."

Interested in ordering The Psalm 91 Bandana? Visit www.dreamci.com.

• Date Taken: 10.29.2007
• Date Posted: 10.29.2007 17:46
• Story ID: 13452
• Location: CAMP ARIFJAN, KW