(December 8, 2007)--A laid-off trucker in Maryland doesn't look like Santa Clause as he reclines in his La-Z-Boy after three days of nearly nonstop work.
But James Ward is making Christmas brighter for thousands of U.S. service members in Iraq and Afghanistan.
He's mailed them miniature potted spruce trees with all the holiday trimmings.
Ward founded Operation Christmas Tree last year ago to cheer up his deployed stepdaughter and a few dozen of her fellow soldiers in Iraq.
The project has blossomed into a national campaign that shipped 5,000 trees this season.
That's a huge increase over the 75 that were shipped last year, half of them to his stepdaughter, Spc. Luisa Gonzalez, and members of her unit.
The 23-year-old medic is now stationed at Fort Hood.
She helped her stepfather with this year's tree packing project.
Click Here For Operation Christmas Tree Web Site
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