More donations of clothing and shoes are needed for injured and wounded troops arriving at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, Germany, from the Iraq and Afghanistan theaters.
“We’ve gone through thousands of pairs of tennis shoes, flip-flop shower shoes, Dockers, sweats and underwear,” said Army Chaplain (Col.) David McLean, chief of pastoral services at Landstuhl. “If we continue at the rate we’re going now, I have a feeling donations will dry up.”

More than 6,000 troops have come to the medical center from the Iraqi theater, and more than 1,800 from the Afghanistan theater.

Troops also are returning to Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., for treatment before they go to a hospital at their own installation, but donations there are not needed. “The needs are being met,” said Barbara Green of the American Red Cross office at Walter Reed.

Donations of clothing, shoes and other items are coming from individuals, churches, schools, corporations, military exchanges, military-relief societies, and others in Germany, Belgium, the United States and elsewhere. They range from a $20 box of clothing to a 10,000-pound pallet of necessities.

“A lot of times when patients come here, they have only the clothes on their back,” said Loretta Wood, an employee in the pastoral services office at Landstuhl who volunteers her off-duty hours to manage donations.

The military provides uniforms, toiletries and physical-training outfits. The Army also has provided a $50,000 grant for vouchers for troops to buy personal clothes at AAFES, but this program ends Sept. 30 and the funds are close to gone. The military relief societies also have provided funds for troops.

Patients, especially those with less serious injuries, want clean, comfortable clothes they can move around in, Wood said. Items in demand are shoes and sweat clothes — including some that zip up to make it easier for those with arm and shoulder injuries. Now that winter is on the way, more coats are needed, too. Other items needed are socks, T-shirts and underwear, including sports bras.

Donations can be sent to:

•Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, Attn: Pastoral Services CMR402, APO AE 09180.

•Monetary donations can be sent by check or money order made out to “Friends of Fisher House” and marked for OEF/OIF patients, or made out to “Landstuhl Fisher House,” and mailed to Landstuhl Fisher House, CMR 402, Box 669, APO AE 09180.

•AAFES “Gifts from the Homefront” gift certificates are available online at www.aafes.com.

By Karen Jowers
Times staff writer