News and Media
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MotoMail puts letters in troops’ hands
Published June 13, 2006 ANGLETON — To many military men and women stationed in remote areas without phone lines or Internet access and coping with a correspondence lag of up to two weeks, the term “snail-mail” has taken on a whole new meaning.
But now many are tapping into a new online resource.
MotoMail, an online mail delivery service, combines the speed and convenience of e-mail with the satisfying rip of an envelope.
Originally conceived by the British military and superletter.com, MotoMail was adopted by the Marine Corps in the mid 90s and since has been expanded to include the U.S. Army, Navy and Air Force. Even though the service only works one way, the sender can check the status of each letter with a tracking number.
“It’s a quick way of getting mail to places where the chances of Internet access are slim to none,” Cindi Funderburg Edwards said. “I’ve found it very useful because I can tell my boys something almost immediately.”
Edwards has two sons in Marine Corps infantry divisions who have spent time overseas, and she uses the service regularly.
“It makes them feel better too, having faster contact,” she said.
Through the Web site, www.motomail.us, she signs in with an e-mail address and password, chooses the military branch, selects a unit number and enters her son’s name. She then writes up to 54 lines of text.
Through the power of modern technology, MotoMail sends these lines to a machine thousands of miles away, which prints, folds and seals them in an envelope that is delivered to her son by his unit’s mail distribution service. Within 24 hours, his eyes are the first and only to read them.
“It’s also free and unlimited,” Donnie Meismer said. “Sometimes I’ll send one right after the other.”
Meismer has been corresponding with Pfc. Marcus DeVance of Angleton, who is currently stationed in Al Taqaddum air base in Iraq, west of Baghdad. The two have never met in person but have formed a strong connection through a month of MotoMailing.
“When I heard that DeVance needed some motivation from home,” Meismer said, “my wife and I decided to take care of him.”
Having served in the Marine Corps during the Desert Storm and Desert Shield campaigns in the ’90s, Meismer said he felt he had an obligation to support DeVance during his stint abroad and has taken advantage of the service that was not available during his tour of duty.
If it weren’t for MotoMail’s immediacy, Meismer said, he wouldn’t know DeVance nearly as well as he does now.
“At first I couldn’t get him to tell me what he wanted from home,” he said. “But after awhile, I got it out of him.”
So far, Meismer has shipped him such varied items as baby wipes and Taco Bell sauce.
DeVance told Meismer that getting mementos from home goes a long way in boosting his morale.
Internet access is too slow to be reliable, and most people in his unit use mail to keep in touch, DeVance told Meismer.
As a local marine recruiter, Gunnery Sgt. Andy Hallman said he has seen the MotoMail trend grow quickly over the past few years.
“Mostly I talk to parents who come in and say, ‘My son or daughter is going to Iraq or Afghanistan, how can I keep in touch with them?’ and I tell them about it,” he said.
The privacy of the process, which allows for uncensored, unedited letters, also is a draw for servicemen and servicewomen, who are grateful for any tangible reminder of home.
“You can put it in the pocket of your vest and carry it with you or put it in your bunk and keep it safe,” Meismer said. “You have a real emotional connection to something you can actually hold on to.”
Meredith Amos is a reporter for The Facts. Contact her at (979)-237-0150. | | | |
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