When 9-year-old Tyler MacDonald saw the American flag that was sent to her Girl Scout troop from soldiers of the 82nd Airborne Division serving in Afghanistan, one of her first reactions -- after "Awesome!" that is -- was "It's dirty."

There was a good reason for that, her mom Elizabeth MacDonald told her: The flag had been flying in the desert.

That flag was a thank-you, Ms. MacDonald said, from a group of reconnaissance soldiers of the 82nd Airborne who have been the recipients of several care packages from Sharpsville Troop 138 since January.

She said the troop received three responses from 82nd Airborne soldiers, one a little more than a week ago that included the flag and a certificate that read: "This American flag was flown over Fort Apache, Kandahar Air Field, Afghanistan, during Operation Enduring Freedom III on 9 March 2003 for Beth MacDonald and Troop 138."

"They were excited, although I think the parents understood more and realized the importance moreso than the kids did," Ms. MacDonald said, regarding the flag.

The certificate also featured a group picture of all the soldiers on it, Ms. MacDonald of Sharpsville added, and was signed by the commander and first sergeant.

Troop members, in addition to Tyler, are: Taylor Miller, Rayna Brooks, Miranda Bizzarri, Corissa Bowser, Nicole Cain, Jessica Detky, Ashley Vadala, Linsey Taylor, Meghan Ferguson, Katelyn Spatara, Emily Kocis, Hannah Holt and Alexis Gonzalez. All are 4th-graders in Sharpsville schools.

The girls, under the guidance of leaders Patricia Detky, Lynne Vadala and Ms. MacDonald, began researching the idea of sending items to troops overseas last October and eventually "adopted" 18 soldiers from the 1-64th AR Cavalry of the 3rd Infantry Division serving in Iraq and 25 from the 313th MI Battalion of the 82nd Airborne Division in Afghanistan.

"We just wanted the girls to be aware that there's more people in the world besides themselves," Ms. MacDonald said. "Right now they're at the age where they see a world that revolves around them. And we wanted them to know the soldiers were over there."

It was a perfect fit for Ms. MacDonald, who served in the Army from 1991 to 1997, including one year in Korea, and whose "father is retired military."

"It gave me that awareness that the soldiers were over there by themselves without their families," Ms. MacDonald said of her background.

Despite her youth, Tyler also exhibited a keen awareness for the situation.

"My mom was a soldier and it made me feel sad when she was overseas, so I kind of know what they and their families are feeling," she said.

It's even more personal than that for Tyler, whose father, Cpl. Michael MacDonald, is in Iraq with the 101st Battalion.

Troop 138 sought donations from 50 area businesses, Ms. MacDonald said, and eventually received items from about 10. Since January, they've sent three boxes -- one a month -- as well as cards and letters weekly, to both platoons.

Each care package has had a different theme. The first was a Valentine's Day box, the second one included 170 boxes of Girl Scout cookies that were purchased by individuals in the community and then donated back to the troop to send overseas, and the most recent box had an Easter theme.

"I think that it felt pretty good for them to hear from people and to know that people were thinking about them," Tyler said. "And I felt great because they're fighting the war for us."

The next care package, Ms. MacDonald said, is "an unbirthday box" that will have all of the items wrapped up like birthday presents.

"We're doing that because many of the soldiers have been over there for such a long time that they missed celebrating their birthdays with their families," she said.

Ms. MacDonald said the troop, which has also sent more than 80 cards to local men and women whose addresses were published in The Herald, plans to continue the effort until October. And she said for good reason.

"We've gotten a lot of letters back and e-mails," she said.

One soldier, Ms. MacDonald said, wrote, "Thank you for the box you sent. It picked up my spirits just to get it and also thanks for the mail! It's nice to get mail. ... I look forward to hearing from you again soon."

You can e-mail Herald Staff Writer Jeff Greenburg at
jgreenburg@sharonherald.com.