2026 Memorial Day Message…The Power of a Beanie Baby!
Guest post by Linda Brinkman
A SINGLE ACT OF KINDNESS…
While our son served in the military, I volunteered some time with Packages From Home, an organization sending boxes to our military overseas. I thought that in the next packages from home, I would send to the soldiers some little things for children impacted by the war, including those who had just been robbed of their moms and/or dads.
A young soldier, having received a box from me sharing all his goodies with his barracks, found a Beanie Baby he pushed off to the side, as he continued to rifle through the rest of the contents. Somehow this Beanie Baby made its way into his military backpack with my note attached to it, “A single act of kindness from one to another.”
What would happen next, could only have been through DIVINE INTERVENTION, as I read the note back from the soldier that received my package…
This was his response to me…
“…Last week I was on a convoy of 7 Hummers. As we were making our way through the rubble on a busy mountainous highway, our convoy began slowing down and finally reached a complete stop in the middle of the road.”
“The soldiers in the first Hummer just ahead of me got out to survey the problem, finding a little girl of about 8 or 9 years old sitting in the middle of the road. Knowing that they could not touch the little girl, they tried speaking to her, hand movements, and acting out situations trying to get the little girl to move off the road. When realizing that their efforts were not resolved, they proceeded slowly driving around the child, not to come too close to her and not going off the cliff on the other side.”
“As our vehicle approached, I stood up in the Hummer to survey the problem. I jumped up and out of the vehicle, told my troop that I thought I recognized the little girl and for them to stay behind. She was the young girl I had given the Beanie Baby to a week earlier as she lay next to her family who had just been gunned down. ’I wonder if she will remember me?’ I said to my Commanding Officer (CO). I was given permission to approach her slowly.”
“As I started walking toward her, her face turned from a frozen stare to a huge smile, as she ran up to me and hugged me. Grabbing my hand with one of hers and clutching the Beanie Baby in her other hand, we walked toward where she had been sitting. I looked down to the road as the little girl pointed to an object that she had been protecting.”
“In the center of the road was a land mine that would have exploded upon contact.”
“That day, because an unknown lady [me], putting a little Beanie Baby into a box through an act of kindness to an unknown soldier, and then by sharing that little Beanie Baby to an unknown child, about 49 lives were saved and countless lives preceding that day; along with the sorrows and griefs of many more unknown families.”
From a patriotic mother in the U.S. to a brave soldier overseas; a toy finds a new home in the hands of a lonely child halfway around the world. Is this all it takes for a little kindness to be shared? No words, no pictures, no amount of money can share the emotions that were shared and the lives that were saved that day.
As a mother of a son who was in the military, who had returned from tours in A-Stan, Turkey, London, and Iraq, I know that there are many brave service men and women who have given their lives unselfishly to protect us and protect the sovereignty of this Nation.
“On this Memorial Day Weekend, may we also remember the families left behind — the empty chairs at dinner tables, the folded flags held tightly in trembling hands, the children who grew up missing a parent, and the husbands, wives, mothers, fathers, brothers, and sisters whose hearts were forever changed by sacrifice.
For while we honor those who gave their lives for this Nation, we must also honor the love they left behind. Memorial Day is not only about remembrance… it is about gratitude, compassion, unity, and never allowing their sacrifice to be forgotten.”
Freedom does not come free or from handouts; it is earned by those who give of themselves, believe in what our Founding Fathers left for us, and still believe in our Constitution today. What better way to show our respect, kindness, and appreciation to all our First Responders, including the military, than to honor all of them with prayers and thanksgiving for their worthy accomplishments…
It’s so true that Big Things can come from Small Packages – even a Beanie Baby.
“Perhaps the greatest lesson of all is this:
No act of kindness is ever too small.
No sacrifice given in love is ever wasted.
And no American hero should ever be forgotten.
This Memorial Day, may we stand together not as strangers, not as Republicans or Democrats, but as Americans — grateful for those who carried the burden of freedom before us.
And may we always remember:
Sometimes the smallest act of kindness can save lives, restore hope, and change the world forever.”
As America approaches 250 years of freedom this July 4th, may we never take that freedom for granted. It was preserved by courage, sacrifice, faith, and generations of Americans willing to place country above self.
Our thanks go before the altar of God for health and safety to our families; for an opportunity to bring God back in our homes and family values back to our children.
God Bless all our Families, Military, Firefighters, Ambulance Personnel, Police Officers, Peace Officers, and our Great Nation. For…
THE GREATEST GIFT IS TO
FILL A NEED
…UNNOTICED.
Please have a blessed Memorial Day with your family and friends and never forget how we got here.
-Linda Brickman
© Linda Brickman, 2026. All Rights Reserved.
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