NORFOLK, VA— After seven months at sea as part of Operation Enduring Freedom, U.S. military personnel aboard the USS Shreveport were welcomed to their home port here on April 20 by Mickey Mouse and Disneyland Resort representatives. Resort employees “adopted the Shreveport as part of the resorts Operation Uplift program through which staff members send messages of support and thanks to United States servicemen and women on active duty outside the U.S. The program began in 1995 when employee Mike Woodhall read a letter in the newspaper from a serviceman who expressed the appreciation felt by the troops when they received mail. Woodhall began writing to the troops regularly to thank them for their efforts. Resort staff began corresponding with the USS Shreveport last September, when it was deployed to the North Arabian Sea. More than 1,000 employees wrote messages on postcards and the resort sent a holiday care package to the Shreveport, including the postcards, as well as gifts, for the men and women on board the ship. Capt. William Valentine, commanding officer of the USS Shreveport, responded with a letter thanking the employees and Disney. Resort staff have continued having postcard drives throughout the year and have participated in other initiatives to support military personnel abroad.
