Kathy Temple of Aiken kept a picture of her 22-year-old son Trent taped to her shirt during a gathering Friday of family members of the 319th Transport Company, now in Iraq.
"Only a mother," Mrs. Temple laughed.
She and about a hundred other relatives of the members of the Augusta-based 319th met at the U.S. Army Reserve armory on Wrightsboro Road to pack boxes to send to the troops and to offer each other support.
"I feel like I can do something for my son just being here today," Mrs. Temple said. "It's a difficult time in our lives."
The family of Ebony Williams brought a three-panel poster board display adorned with her photograph and those of her two sons, 11-month-old Xavier and 2-year-old Marvin Lamont, and four American flags.
"She had a birthday since she's been gone," said her mother, Shirley Williams, of Aiken. "She turned 24 March 31st. We bought a cake and cut it, and we've got her a piece that says happy birthday and her name in the freezer for when she comes."
Amy Oliveras of Riverdale, Ga., taped a box she had packed for her husband, Chief Warrant Officer Jesus Oliveras.
"We're sending him an individual box with things that people have donated to the 319th, such as toothpaste, razors, shaving cream, deodorant, toilet paper, baby wipes, batteries, letters from his grandkids, and a couple of verses from the Bible," Mrs. Oliveras said. "He's getting two packages. One from the grandchildren, and one from the wife."
Robert Scotland of Denmark, S.C., came in honor of his daughter Shijuana Scotland, a 20-year-old college student who was supposed to graduate in May with a sociology degree.
"We're just hoping for her to get back home soon, so she can complete that process," he said. "She wants to be a pediatrician. We just want her to be safe. We keep praying for her. We miss her, and we want her to get back home as soon as possible."
The group packaged and shipped out about 800 pounds of donated items for the troops late Friday, with more scheduled to go out today.
"We still have more back there, and we haven't gone through yet what family members brought for their specific soldier," said Sgt. Kathleen Taylor, one of the organizers of the gathering.
"My husband, Sgt. Gary Taylor, retired from the motor pool of 319th in September, so we feel obligated to his soldiers to be here and do a lot for them," she said.
Teresa Kennedy, the president of the 319th Transport Company's Family Support Group, said the gathering was designed to let the families get to know one another.
"We're just trying to get together and support each other because we need support as well as our troops do."
Reach Sylvia Cooper at (706) 823-3228 or sylviaco@augustachronicle.com.
