In recent years, local residents joined together with Thurmont’s Commissioner Bill Blakeslee to form a Military Support Committee to help provide comfort items to men and women serving our country overseas.

Earlier this month, Thurmont’s Military Support Committee received a personal thank you from one of the soldiers who benefited from a Thurmont care package.

Chief Warrant Officer 5 Ed Penick, brother of the town’s lawyer Lynn Board, came to a town meeting on October 12, 2005 to personally thank Thurmont for helping him during his last tour of duty. Penick is stationed in Tall Afar, Iraq and serves as a helicopter pilot with the 4th Squadron, 3rd Armored Calvary Regiment of the United State Army. He lives in Ft. Carson, Colorado and was home on leave for two weeks when he visited Thurmont. He is half-way through is Iraq tour of duty.

"The care package came at just the right time for me," said Penick. "I had just arrived in Iraq and we had very little in way of supplies. There was no PX…so the pens and paper and food came in very handy."

As a thank you to the town of Thurmont, Penick presented an American flag, a photograph of his helicopter with the flag flying and a thank you letter. The flag was flown over Iraq on September 13 during Operation Iraqi Freedom III in conjunction with Operation Restore Rights in Tall Afar, Iraq.

"We don’t have much to buy over there, but we do have flags, so I took this flag and flew it on my helicopter for 2½ hours over Iraq," said Penick.