Grati-Tuesday 20 November 18

Hi all, 

Some of the 1065 laundry bags we presented to HMAS Adelaide for Operation APEC Assist were recently presented to two patrols boats also participating in APEC Assist.  Crew members from HMAS Glenelg and HMAS Larrakia wasted no time sending us some thank you messages.....

Enjoy them along with messages from messages from other happy recipients.
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Dear Susan Pr

Thank you for the splendid laundry bag that I received while deployed on OPERATION APEC ASSIST 2018.

All members of my ships company received a laundry bag while assigned to this operation, which is supporting Papua New Guinea’s government in securing the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting in Port Moresby. I noticed another laundry bag similar to the one I received from you, so I assume that you have made several bags that have been dispatched to our people here. I am very grateful for your support to me and my ships company.  

Glenelg is an Armidale Class Patrol Boat based in Darwin, and most often assigned to OPERATION RESOLUTE, our ongoing operation to secure Australia’s maritime approaches from a range of illegal activity. Although typically assigned to RESOLUTE, Glenelg has also deployed on OPERATION AUGURY to assist the government of the Philippines to counter violent extremism, as well as domestic and international exercises throughout the Asia-Pacific region in 2018. Even though our patrol boats are relatively small, we spend as much, if not more time operationally deployed than any other unit in the Australian Defence Force. On average, a patrol boat will spend at two thirds of the year away from home port, and in 2018, Glenelg will spend 40 weeks away from home. Because operational deployments are routine for us, larger units deploying on an operation often gain more attention. Your laundry bags are a reminder to my team that their service on almost constant operational deployment is appreciated by our fellow Australians.

I have attached a photo of some of my ships company with their laundry bags – please forgive the half-closed eyes – the sun was right in our faces! Thank you again.

Kindest regards,

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Good morning Anne,

I just wanted to write a quick email (because a letter will take so much longer from here!) to say a huge THANKYOU for my laundry bag. We received them on special delivery from HMAS Adelaide here in PNG, and receiving them was the highlight of our morning!

I have been lucky enough to have received a quilt from your wonderful group when I was deployed in Afghanistan in 2016, but certainly didn’t expect anything on this trip. The thought, the work and the gift are very much appreciated!

We are looking forward to heading home after this operation, where I will join my next ship and sail the same day, but I am hopeful that I will be home in time for our wedding anniversary and Christmas.

Thank you for thinking of us, I have attached a group photo, please excuse the squinted eyes, we were staring directly into the sun!

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Good afternoon Noelene,

What a great surprise it was to receive a package from you containing not only my laundry bag, but also a lovely letter, angel charm and various goodies! All are very much appreciated - especially the bag, coaster and the angel charm, which I have placed on my work bag so that I have her with me when I'm out and about. The laundry bag itself is a work of art, and I'm very proud to be the recipient of your wonderful work - it really is exactly what I was hoping for.

I've now been deployed for just over two months. This deployment is my second in the last two years which is great for me professionally, but is also hard on my family at home who miss me dearly (as I do them). It is the thoughts and gestures from not only them, but also the wonderful quilters such as yourself and the whole Aussie Hero team that make time away from home that much more bearable.

I'm in a lucky position here where I interact with a lot of deployed Air Force personnel, and the feedback I receive when the guy's and girl's are sent their quilts and laundry bags is very much appreciative of the time and effort that goes into each piece. We really do love receiving our quilts and laundry bags as they bring a such smile to our faces and brighten our days.

Again, thank you so much for my wonderful package - I really do appreciate receiving it.

Regards,

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Good afternoon Coffs Harbour Sewing team,

I have received your quilt in the mail today. OMG, what an amazing piece you provided to me. Thank you

The amazing effort put into these quilts really is inspiring. I am currently working in a team of 14 personnel and each time a quilt arrives, its down tools (computers!) to all stand around and watch the unveiling. The mail delivery day is always an interesting vibe waiting to see who’s quilt will arrive and the look of disappointment on those waiting for theirs is funny. (not if it’s you waiting) For us, deploying it’s what we signed up for, but to receive these quilts as a memento to take home means the world to us over here.

Please know you are truly valued by the Aust Defence Force and thank you for bringing happiness to us over here.

Regards,
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Dear Anna,

Thank you very much for the care and effort you put in for making me a quilt and laundry bag.  I greatly admire your hard work, not just in making me a quilt and laundry bag, but in doing it for numerous others.

To tell you a bit about me, I have been deployed overseas now for some time now, but with our various types of lead up training the team we have been away from home since the start of the year.  It has been a long but rewarding time.  I do miss my family though.

I am married with two kids, 5 and 2.  My wife surprised me a couple of months ago when she told me that she was pregnant!  She told me when I came home from leave – she had been hiding it on Skype from me for 3 months!  It was very sneaky of her but an excellent surprise. 

To expand, the people in my company work very hard.  They average a 12 hour day, though it can be longer.  They strive to work hard every day, to protect their mates and help with the overall situation.  Anything different to the routine enables us to talk about something other than our work and is uplifting. 

I shared the food around, which is greatly appreciated.  You are correct on the Tim Tams – I used your packet to ‘buy’ a favour from one of my coalition counterparts.  You cannot buy anything like that over here.

I wanted to write you a letter as it takes more effort than an email, plus I send emails all day for work. 

Thank you again.

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Good evening Jan-Maree,

Firstly, VMT for your many years of service in the Defence.

I am now the proud owner of a beautiful laundry bag with motorbike helmets all over it, I can assure you that it has been commissioned and is now in full service. Since I’m a motorcycle enthusiast I considered myself quite lucky to have been handed it instead of picking the laundry bag, it was meant to be. Believe it or not, my shipmates and I were all quite excited and super pleased to have received this the other day; and it goes to show how the simple things in life can make you happy. I am sure hundreds of working hours went into making the laundry bags, so my sincere thank you to all involved.

Funny you mentioned that you were an Air Traffic Control Officer for the RAAF, I currently provide maintenance services to three ATCO’s in our ATC room on board. They are all some of the nicest people I have had the pleasure to work with. As an ET ‘S’ I seldom get the chance to work with a Comms Officer or an Admin Officer, however both on board are great.

I appreciated the letter too, I had no idea about Aussie Hero Quilts until the day I was presented with my laundry bag.

Thank you so much again.

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Good Morning Anne,

I am currently the Catering Manager serving on HMAS Glenelg on Operation APEC Assist 18. We just received a Shipment of Laundry Bags and Quilts from Aussie Quilt Heroes and I was lucky enough to receive your BATMAN Laundry Bag, Thank you so much for your generous donations and please know they are much Appreciated!

About me, I have currently served almost 15 years in the RAN and have been posted on ships operating from Sydney and Darwin. I am originally form Just south of Wollongong so hearing your grandson is going to Wollongong University is very close to home for me.

I hope you’re having a wonderful day and this message finds you well.

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 Pennie,

This morning I received my lovely Laundry bag from you with one side of it being sweets (my favourite) and the other side being savoury foods. I would just like to thank you immensely for the time and effort put into the laundry bag and I want you to know that your beautiful fabric ‘habit’ certainly hasn’t gone unnoticed! I know how lucky I am and please know that I will treasure and hold this close throughout the rest of my career, knowing that there are beautiful people back home that take the time out of their own busy lives and schedules to make these lovely gifts for us. I especially admire the dedication that you put in, as working as an emergency nurse is anything other than easy. I know your own days are long and demanding having started my Bachelor of Nursing degree back when I left school a couple of years ago, hopefully something that one day I will endeavour to return to completing.

A little bit about me, I grew up in Victoria and I am currently serving on HMAS Glenelg for APEC Assist as a Communicator. I will have been in the Navy for 2 years in March and have certainly enjoyed every minute of it so far, even in such a short period of time I have visited places that I never would have dreamt of.

Unlike big ships, and although we don’t do what we do for the recognition, we generally don’t receive these on patrol boats so to receive one today most certainly put a smile on the whole crew’s face and I thank you for contributing to that!

I hope you have a lovely weekend and thank you again.

Yours Sincerely, 

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Dear Clarissa,

I would like to thank you for the laundry bag that you and others sent over to Apec 2018. Our cabin is quite colourful now.

Currently I am posted to HMAS Glenelg a patrol vessel based out of Darwin. 

Wishing you and all your family and new coming family a safe and happy Christmas and holidays.  Bringing great ambitions for the new year.

Thank-you again. 
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Dear Clarissa,

I’m writing to thank you for your wonderful care package. I have just recently re-deployed from mid-tour leave and the package was waiting for me when I returned. 

Your parcel was dated September 2018, so I must apologise for only replying to you now. I can only assume it’s because our military postal system is routinely overwhelmed with lovely parcels and have only just gotten through the back-log.

Once again, thank you very much for your package. I hope this letter finds you well!

 Kindest Regards,

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Hello Bridget,

I am currently a sailor aboard HMAS Larrakia.

I was lucky enough to receive and handmade quilt form yourself and it is very nice and if I may say so much better stitching than anything mum is able to make.

Though it is seen as a small gesture by some the amount of enthusiasm and joy that I say my shipmates show once they discovered your gifts was truly something remarkable after such an extended time away from friends and family.

You have personally made a difference to the morale and spirits of the serving men and women aboard my ship and I a truly grateful for this and you should be proud of this as well.

Yours truly

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Dear Clarissa,

I received your wonderful laundry bag just over a month ago now, I apologise for taking so long to send you my thanks. The bag is absolutely beautiful, it is even better than I could have hoped for! It is even better knowing that it comes from a fellow Brumbies and rugby lover. I’ve already got my membership sorted for next year and I’ll be home just in time to get to the first game. I look forward to seeing Lachy out there running off the back again – he had a great start year last year, hopefully no injuries in 2019!

There is definitely no mistaking my stuff in the laundry any more. All my mates were super jealous when it turned up - I think most of them have put in their own requests now.

Thank you for the letter and the other stuff you packed into the parcel as well. I’ve used the hand sanitiser way more often than I thought I would! Your family sounds super impressive, you must be very proud of them all. It’s my dream to have a nice garden like the one you have some day. I read your letter out to my team and my mate asked if you have any photos of the new puppy you could share with us?

My great-granddad (WWII), my granddad (Korea) and my dad (Afghanistan ’03, ‘09 and Iraq ‘92, ’07, ‘12) have all served in the military. This is my first deployment and I’m a bit sad that granddad wasn’t with us to see me come over. However, I hope I am keeping my family’s traditions strong. It’s been hard work and I am more tired than I have been in my entire life but I love every minute and the challenge of it – I am hoping they will extend my tour, even if it means missing the rugby!

Anyway, I wanted you to know that the work you and the ladies are doing is really loved by everyone around here. The orderly room staff get very excited when a new parcel turns up and they make everyone show off their bags and quilts. It’s always a good time and it adds a lot of colour to this otherwise dull place.

Even though the deployment has been tough, I’ll keep this bag with me forever and I know it will remind me of all the really good times I’ve had here.

Again, thank you for your amazing work and all the best.

Cheers,

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Till next time... keep spreading the word and happy stitching!

Jan-Maree