Laptop Mission..USMC
Camp LeJeune NC

After Action Report

Today six Windows 7 laptops were presented to Marine Wounded Warriors my members of the Gathering of Eagles, Rolling Thunder from Chapter 5 Jacksonville NC Escorts and a US Army Gold Star Mother.The event can only be described as a blessed event for all who attended to honor their brave service.

Local TV news media were present to greet us at the main gate where we all thanked two brave Marines who were present to accept their laptops from Mrs Pattie Densens..GSM of SP-4 Daniel Desents..KIA Iraq and Murial Pederson..GSM of Sgt Ken Pederson KIA Vietnam USMC, presented by Mrs Cee Cee Griffith. at “Mom” Pedersons request

Ed Salau,Wounded Warrior advocate at Camp LeJeune was present to welcome us and express his thanks for our laptop presentation. Ed will deliver the remaining laptops to wounded Marines who were notable to be with us due to their current recovery. Special thanks to the Camp LeJeune base Public Affairs staff of their attendance and escort onto the base to the Wounded Warriors Barracks.

I wish to express my personal thank to all who donated funding to make all our laptops missions possible and I ask all to continue to donate whatever they can afford to make possible future laptop missions at Fort Bragg..Fort Gordon Ga & Fort Hood Texas.

As administrator of the Gathering of Eagles missions I work for the smiles of our Wounded Warriors, I have been paid in full with the completion of each of our missions. As a Vietnam Vet I wish in some small way to help pay forward to our replacements for their brave service and to say to them..Thank You For Your Brave Service Brothers & Sisters.

Special thanks also to New River Harley Davidson Jacksonville NC for the funding raised on Jan 30 during their Chili Cook Off Challenge fund raiser, these laptops will be presented at Fort Gordan Ga..ASAP !.

To date 47 laptops have been funded by private donations from Americans who have reached out to bring the gift of communications to our wounded during their recovery
May you God bless you and hold you safe.

On to Fort Gordon Ga.. and beyond!
What we do best for our military we do best..together

God has blessed America with our mighty military

George & Jamie Samek

Gathering of Eagles
Shallotte NC

First the great news

I am proud to say we will be presenting laptops to our Wounded Warriors at Fort Hood Texas in early 2010.
Master Sgt CJ Grisham, a active duty military blogger, will take the point with the Fort Hood mission and we at the Gathering of Eagles, with our wonderful Gold and Blue Star Mothers, will visit with our brave wounded and share with them our love and respect for their brave service to our nation.

To recap the year of 2009, I am proud to inform you we have presented laptops to both Walter Reed Hospital in Washington DC on September 11, and also at Bethesda Naval Hospital on Sept 13. Gold and Blue Star Mothers shared with our wounded a Mothers love and words of comfort during these presentations.

Our laptops missions then moved forward to Fort Sill OK, where Debi Bohannan , Blue Star Mother. stepped up to make a great presentation of laptops and IPods to our wounded together with other Blue Star Mothers.
We were well received at Fort Sill due to her hard work to lay the ground work.

Laptops & Ipods will be presented to our Marine Wounded Warriors in Jan 2010 at Camp LeJeune NC.by members of the Gathering of Eagles, Gold and Blue Star Mothers and support from Chapter 5. Rolling Thunder. Jacksonville NC.

The laptop missions will then move forward to Fort Bragg NC for our Army Wounded Warriors, planning is now in progress for a presentation date.

To date with the many personal donations by true troop supporter we have presented, or will present in 2010, forty laptops to our Wounded Warriors. We have also presented Ipods and DVD players along with the laptops.

Work is in progress to begin writing requests for grant funding to continue these laptops missions forward.

The NC Lady's auxiliary of Veterans of Foreign Wars will make their 2010 fund raising efforts next year to further donate funding to continue these laptops missions. Once again our Ladies lead the way.

Initial planning has Begin to present laptops to our Canadian Wounded Warriors who have served with pride and courage with our military in combat.

Jamie & I wish to extend our personal thanks to each of you for your support in 2009 and promise you we will continue to work with you to insure we honor out troops in 2010.

A special thanks to our Gathering of Eagles chairman Larry Bailey for his leadership and personal efforts to raise laptop funding.

Please continue to spread the word to all and to donate what you can afford in these hard times we all now face together.

I have found that what we do best we all do together.

May God bless each of you and hold you and your family's safe in the new year.

Happy New Year

George & Jamie Samek
Gathering of Eagles NC

Dec 12 2009
Fort Samek NC

With great pride in all of my many Brothers and Sisters within the Gathering of Eagles who have made this update possible
Thank You So Very Much.

To date donations received have purchased a special Christmas gift. GOE will present five new Windows 7 laptops to our Marine Wounded Warriors at Camp Lejeune NC and another five laptops will be presented to Army Wounded Warriors at Fort Bragg NC in Jan 2010.

We will be moving forward with new funding in the new year, lets all please chip in what you can afford and continue to spread the word and seek funding from within your community.

You have all made my 69th Christmas on earth the most wonderful one of my life, as a Vietnam Vet this mission has healed a hurt in my heart and I feel their a few smiles from within our Vietnam Wall, Our most holy ground.

My God Continue to bless and protect you for the rest of your life.

That We Do Best,.."We" all do best.."Together

Thank You All

George & Jamie Samek
Gathering of Eagles NC

by CJ at “You Served®” Veteran and Military Blog
Laptops For Wounded Warriors Goes Global

After contacting Walter Reed, Samek learned that laptops are the one item that the wounded warriors really wanted and truly needed and he began seeking donations to fulfill this need. As a veteran, his heart lies with America’s armed forces and for years he has been apart of the troop support organization, The Gathering of Eagles. “As a simple old soldier I wish to say thanks to each of you for joining in to make this happen,” Samek said, “I work for smiles from my military and those smiles become a good reason for them to know they know we care and they are not alone.”

Lynda Figueredo of WECT6 in Wilmington, NC reports on the GOE Warrior Support Project.

Pay it forward: Helping wounded warriors

Reported by Lynda Figueredo

BRUNSWICK COUNTY, NC (WECT) - George Samek is helping to provide computers to wounded warriors so they can keep in touch with their families.

This weekend he and some special mothers delivered the donation to soldiers recovering in a hospital in Washington DC. Samek said the experience changed his life.

"That was a life long dream coming true," said Samek.

Samek's heart has always gone out to the servicemen at war. For years he has volunteered with an organization called "Gathering of Eagles" to help make recovery easier for wounded soldiers and veterans.

He says the greatest accomplishment is his newest project: Laptops for Troops.

"I am a 69-year-old veteran," said Samek. "This is a combination lifetime of caring and dedication to guys who didn't come home and we want to pay forward so boys will stand up when we are gone and do the same for soldiers to follow."

The program started with an email to organizations across the nation. Four weeks later, 20 laptops and web cams were donated to wounded veterans so they can keep in touch with their families regardless the distance.

"[When] the wounded soldiers go to Walter Reed they are cut off with communication," said Samek. "We want them to be able to say goodnight to their children, their wives, and have constant communication. It helps with recovery. There is nothing more important than being able to touch home."

Samek's next mission is to present laptops to the troops at Fort Bragg and Camp Lejeune with other gold and blue star mothers.

Update: After seeing this story the VFW Ladies Auxiliary Department of NC contacted Samek and expressed interest in making his project a statewide effort for 2010.

To contact Samek, email him at: samek.george@gmail.com

You can help by donating a check to:

Gathering of Eagles/George Samek
1105 Copas Road
Shallotte, NC 28470

*Donations are tax exempt.

On September 13 2009 another four laptops were presented to the Wounded Warriors at the Bethesda Medical Center by Gold and Blue Star Mothers and members of the Gathering of Eagles.

Based on the success of the initial presentation, additional laptop missions are now in progress. To assure that our wounded across America have the ability to reach out to their families and friends while recovering from combat wounds, these laptops will be passed along at the medical centers. This is a true gift that keeps on giving - for years to come.

Planning is in progress for laptop missions at Fort Bragg NC, Camp Lajeune NC, Fort Sill OK, Fort Gordon Ga. and Brooks Medical Center in Texas. Many others will be considered as funding is raised to support each mission.

These Toshiba laptops are purchased from Best Buy at a average cost of $350.00. Best Buys is donating the web cams and shipping to their destinations.

The need is great and by the generosity of patriots, the goal is obtainable. We all do best what we do together. As word spreads to others who support our military, there are no limits to the good we can do for our troops who have risked and sacrificed for our great nation.

The NC Lady's Auxiliary of the Veterans of Foreign Wars has adopted the laptop missions as their mission for 2010. As others join in our efforts we will succeed and continue to meet the communications needs of our wounded.

Donations to the Warrior Support Project can be offered via PayPal using the link in the right sidebar of these pages. Donation may be made by check as well;
send to

Gathering of Eagles/George Samek.
Wounded Warrior Advocate
1105 Copas Road SW
Shallotte NC 28470

Actually, checks are better because PayPal takes a little off the top.

Thanks for your support during this continuing mission. I wish to say that I am very proud of my many Brothers and Sisters who have stood, and joined in to bring joy to those who defend America.

George & Jamie Samek
Gathering of Eagles NC

Laptops for Wounded Warriors: September 11th at Walter Reed Army Medical Center

For some of America’s wounded warriors who have risked all in the defence of freedom, the recovery may be swift. For others who have lost precious limbs or endured near death burns at the hands of terrorists and insurgents in Iraq and Afghanistan, their challenging recovery may span months, to years, to a lifetime.
The donated laptops serve not only as a window to the world but will also enable America’s wounded warriors to do something most take for granted—and that is to be able to say “goodnight” to their loved ones and keep in close touch with their families who often live in different states.

Room by room, the band of patriots visited with several wounded warriors and in many cases met with their families as Samek and the mothers presented the troops with laptops, I-Pods and phone cards. The patriots were welcomed and embraced by America’s heroes, brave with the boundless love-of-country.

The Warrior Support Project began with a GOE custom. Due to the nature and frequency of actions taken by GOE in countering anti-war protests, Eagles from around the nation have made many trips to Washington D.C. From the beginning, it became a custom to go a day early so that we may join with and reinforce the Free Republic and Protest Warriors patriots at the gates of Walter Reed Army Hospital. It has also become a custom to collect donations beforehand for purchase of gifts for the wounded warriors within WR.

In preparation for the 9/12 Tea Party March to the capital, NCGOE prepared for the trip by again collecting donations for the customary visit at WR. For this trip the job of donation collection was assigned to George Samek of Shallotte, NC. And this time, George cranked it up a few notches.
By the weekend of 9/12, George had spread the mission far beyond the boundaries of North Carolina and far outside the ranks of the Gathering of Eagles.

On September 11, 2009 representatives of several organizations including Band of Mothers, Blue Star Moms, GOE, Free Republic, EaglesUp, MoveAmericaForward and Americas Mightest Warriors presented 10 brand new laptop computers to the wounded troops. With web-cams the computers allow the soldiers to communicate, live, with family and friends via the internet.

In the weeks following 9/12, donations continue to flow in. The purchase of computers, DVD players, Ipods and other miscellaneous gifts continues.

The weekend event has become a permanent project, and is now addressing the needs of wounded warriors not only at Walter Reed, but across the nation.