User Panel
Posted: 12/28/2011 4:52:28 PM EDT
Bidding has now officially ended, thank each and every one of you that bid, and thank all of you that have sent donations without bidding. /span]. You guys have done so much already, I am just completely overwhelmed, you turned what was a move not far from desperation into something that has changed my outlook on the entire human race.
I am Cecil Byrnside 662A Bennock Mill Rd Augusta, GA 30906 Paypal [email protected] My cousins name is Steven Thomas Williams. Update, another attempt to bring organization to the chaos, an updated lost of items and current bids on page 3. Remember, if there are other bids, or items below the update, those are the most current. I have a cousin, PV2 Thomas Williams. He just finished Army Basic Training, and went home on leave to Teague, Texas where his wife, son and daughter were living. Early Christmas morning there was a fire in his home, the house was burned to the ground, his wife Amanda had serious burns on her arms and face, his infant daughter Lydia suffered cuts and bruises, and his toddler son Tripp lost his life. Thomas is a hard working young man, before going into the Army he toiled at a delivery job at a furniture store for three years making little more than minimum wage, and taking every hour of overtime he could get, and never once complained. He grew up hunting and fishing, and is one of the best white tail hunters Georgia every produced. He is a doting father who absolutely adores his kids. Thomas lost his father to cancer six years ago, which was a major blow to him, and he had only recently gotten over that loss. Thomas hasn't asked anybody for anything, but he does need help. I have mentioned on another thread that he lost most of his uniforms in the fire, and will be needing a set of ACU's, a pair of boots, socks and a T-Shirt. His wife and daughter are both at the Burn Unit at Parkland Hospital in Dallas, which is about an hour and a half from his nearest friend or relative. He can't live in the hospital, although for the last couple of days he has, and until his family is out of the woods, he will need to be nearby. Now to the point of this thread. This young man needs help, I would like to give him some, but just can't afford to send more than a few dollars. I went through a list of things I could sell to help him out, and in the end I don't have much that is worth anything, and what little we do have my family needs. After a lot of debating, I have decided to offer up one of my truly prized possessions, an AR15.com Challenge Coin. This is one of the originals, from the very first batch, produced (as I recall) in 2003. I do know that they were the first of their kind, there have been other coins struck, all in limited numbers, but this was one of the first. It was given to me as a token of appreciation for my service as a moderator on this site. It is one of those things that does have value, they are almost impossible to find, they are desirable, and most of us who have them, have no interest in selling them at any price. I don't want to sell this coin, and if this were a simple case of being short of cash, I wouldn't. This is something that I feel compelled to do. My cousin is a good man who has suffered more than the vast majority of us will ever know, and as the only other member of our generation in our family to have served, I feel that I am in a special position to understand his loss, and it is my duty to help him however I can. I don't regret this at all, I know he would do the same and more for me. This coin is the real deal, it has never been engraved, and is numbered uniquely. The authenticity can be verified, the condition is mint, it is still in the protective plastic sleeve it was originally shipped in, and has never been out of it until this evening when I took it out to take a couple of pictures of it. I recall these coins originally selling for about $50, so I will start the bidding there. Whatever I get for it, will go directly to Thomas and his wife, to use for expenses they are incurring with him being near them in Dallas. I will take bids until Noon Sunday 1\1\12. I will cover shipping. Remember, this coin isn't being sold to help me buy a new gun or case of Scotch, this is to help a young soldier who has already lost more than most men could bear, and is still happy to offer himself up to the alter of freedom. Thomas with is son, Trip. Trip did not survive the fire. Amanda with their daughter Lydia on the day she was born. The Coins Another member added some nice Smith and Wesson knives, they are new, with box. Shipping included. [span style='font-size: 12pt;'][span style='color: red;']Paypal to [email protected] Local News Story [span style='font-style: italic;']TEAGUE - A fire that took place on Christmas Day has resulted in the death of a 3-year-old child and put 3 other family members in the hospital. Steven Thomas Williams III and Amanda Williams of Filmore Street in Teague were spending Christmas Day with their family when fire broke out. The fire spread very quickly and the home was completely destroyed along with the entire contents. Mr. Williams is in the military having finished basic training, prior to coming home for Christmas, at Fort Leonardwood, Missouri. Link to spreadsheet that Bigsapper put together This will be the most up to date list of items and status. Of course it doesn't update real time, he has to go in and update each listing manually, so check the thread. When bidding on something try to identify what you are bidding on as it is listed in the spreadsheet. Bidding will end on 2 January 2012 at 7Pm EST. |
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This has been approved, and is being tacked for maximum visibility. Good luck with this, and the site's best to the family.
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75.00
I truly wish him the best. Not sure if I could handle things if I were to lose one of my kids.
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Paypal to [email protected]
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As a father of 3 little boys I can't even imagine the pain this man is in. Christmas has tapped us out so I can't bid on the coin but I can make a small donation. How old is the little girl? We also have an abundance of interactive baby/toddler toys from children that I can ship.
Has a paypal or charity fund at a bank been set up? Prayers from my family to yours. |
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I will put paypal info up in the OP. Paypal to <Removed> You might want to hold off on posting that and simply IM it to the winner. Just a little OPSEC matter. I'd suggest making it known PayPal is available, but not posting it publicly. |
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Bidding is already out of my reach, but I'll paypal you $75. You keep the coin.
ETA: Sent. God bless and be with him and his family. |
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I will put paypal info up in the OP. Paypal to <Removed> You might want to hold off on posting that and simply IM it to the winner. Just a little OPSEC matter. I'd suggest making it known PayPal is available, but not posting it publicly. Thanks |
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I will put paypal info up in the OP. Paypal to <Removed> You might want to hold off on posting that and simply IM it to the winner. Just a little OPSEC matter. I'd suggest making it known PayPal is available, but not posting it publicly. Thanks Although . . . with the various offers to PP funds, you might wish to forgoe OPSEC and leave it up. Your call. |
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I will put paypal info up in the OP. Paypal to <Removed> You might want to hold off on posting that and simply IM it to the winner. Just a little OPSEC matter. I'd suggest making it known PayPal is available, but not posting it publicly. Thanks Although . . . with the various offers to PP funds, you might wish to forgoe OPSEC and leave it up. Your call. This...paypal inbound |
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OP, has the young Soldier contacted his command?
There is Army Relief in place just for these contingencies and his First Sergeant would probably be the guy to get the ball rolling. Army Relief If he is straight out of BCT might be wise to initiate contact with them ASAP as well. |
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OP, has the young Soldier contacted his command? There is Army Relief in place just for these contingencies and his First Sergeant would probably be the guy to get the ball rolling. Army Relief If he is straight out of BCT might be wise to initiate contact with them ASAP as well. This is what i would say as well. There's quite a bit of help available to him, he needs to talk to his command. Best of luck, and sorry for his loss. |
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OP, has the young Soldier contacted his command? There is Army Relief in place just for these contingencies and his First Sergeant would probably be the guy to get the ball rolling. Army Relief If he is straight out of BCT might be wise to initiate contact with them ASAP as well. I am deeply sorry for this Soldier's loss This. There are other other agencies as well which can help him during his time of need such as ACS (Army Community Services). He needs his chain of command to get involved, that's what we're there for. AER will give him an interest free loan to get him back on his feet financially. Did he have renters/homeowners insurance? |
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Maybe contact the local Red Cross? They can probably help get his leave extended, if nothing else. Maybe get him some kind of permissive TDY reporting to a local recruiting office. |
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Maybe contact the local Red Cross? They can probably help get his leave extended, if nothing else. Maybe get him some kind of permissive TDY reporting to a local recruiting office. The American Red Cross and Army Emergency Relief have been notified and are working with him. It seems there was some misunderstanding among his inlaws about benefits, as none of them have ever dealt with the military in any way, of course Thomas has been in the Army for such a short time, and has so much on his mind, he just didn't know some things. His family was enrolled in Tri-Care. Fortunately my father is a retired Army officer, and has spoken with his company and brigade commander, and they are taking care good care of him now that they are aware of the situation, The Army Chaplains have also been very helpful. I don't know where the Chaplain was from, but Amanda had the tubes removed from her throat today, and was awake and able to talk. My cousin still had to tell her about their son, the Chaplain spent about eight straight hours with them, and has been a tremendous comfort. |
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As a father of 3 little boys I can't even imagine the pain this man is in. Christmas has tapped us out so I can't bid on the coin but I can make a small donation. How old is the little girl? We also have an abundance of interactive baby/toddler toys from children that I can ship. Has a paypal or charity fund at a bank been set up? Prayers from my family to yours. Donate Here. Hope this doesn't violate any board rules...if so, I apologize and ask for forgiveness, just this once. |
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Tell him to ask about insurance for his son. He is entitled to a sum of money, automatically, under SGLI. The money won't be any comfort, but will help with funeral arrangements. Hopefully ARC and/or Army Relief already has that on their radar, but make sure you tell your cousin to ask, just to be sure.
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That is just terrible. We can come up with $100, nvm the coin.
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Prayers sent for this young soldier and his family,PayPal will follow on Friday when I get paid.
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I'm tapped for cash at the moment, but if it will help, I'll donate an ARFcom Silver Coin to this effort.
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I'm tapped for cash at the moment, but if it will help, I'll donate an ARFcom Silver Coin to this effort. I'll start the bidding at $100 |
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I'm tapped for cash at the moment, but if it will help, I'll donate an ARFcom Silver Coin to this effort. Great idea Vaca, I'll match your donation as well, so make it 2 coins for the effort. You gentlemen are heroes. We need the OP to edit this information into the first post. This will get complicated, so we all have to be careful to keep it straight. Thanks for stepping up! |
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I am broke, but I live just West of Ft. Worth. He is more than welcome to stay here, do laundry whatever. I am about 65 miles from Dallas.
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Tell him to ask about insurance for his son. He is entitled to a sum of money, automatically, under SGLI. The money won't be any comfort, but will help with funeral arrangements. Hopefully ARC and/or Army Relief already has that on their radar, but make sure you tell your cousin to ask, just to be sure. Agreed. I came in here to post that. Regardless, donation inbound. |
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As a father of 3 little boys I can't even imagine the pain this man is in. Christmas has tapped us out so I can't bid on the coin but I can make a small donation. How old is the little girl? We also have an abundance of interactive baby/toddler toys from children that I can ship. Has a paypal or charity fund at a bank been set up? Prayers from my family to yours. Donate Here. Hope this doesn't violate any board rules...if so, I apologize and ask for forgiveness, just this once. Wow, very sad and prayers sent for a fine family and a promising young soldier. B2 Probably typing too slow, but is the referenced site cited reference legitimate for donations (appears to be)? Otherwise, can we identify a separate "verified" PayPal or other means to just donate vs. participate in the auction? ETA: Thought I'd found the donation site but don't have it decoded w/out a phone call tomorrow. |
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Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: I'm tapped for cash at the moment, but if it will help, I'll donate an ARFcom Silver Coin to this effort. Great idea Vaca, I'll match your donation as well, so make it 2 coins for the effort. You gentlemen are heroes. We need the OP to edit this information into the first post. This will get complicated, so we all have to be careful to keep it straight. Thanks for stepping up! No sir. Not a hero. Just an Arfcommer. |
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Hey boss, I'm not interested in the coin, and don't care to use paypal but if you shoot me an address, I'm good to send a money order for some bux.
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I'm tapped for cash at the moment, but if it will help, I'll donate an ARFcom Silver Coin to this effort. Great idea Vaca, I'll match your donation as well, so make it 2 coins for the effort. You gentlemen are heroes. We need the OP to edit this information into the first post. This will get complicated, so we all have to be careful to keep it straight. Thanks for stepping up! No sir. Not a hero. Just an Arfcommer. Sigline material right there Vaca, good job everyone let's keep this going. |
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