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Patti Patton-Bader
A True American Patriot

By Jeff Bader

Patti Patton-Bader has the heart of Mother Teresa, the motivational mastership of Vince Lombardi and the mobilization skills of Genghis Khan. She was raised an army brat; the great niece of the famous World War II General George S. Patton, daughter of decorated Vietnam Veteran Lt. Colonel David W. Patton, and brother of Iraqi War Veteran David Patton.

When her oldest son Brandon was sent to Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom in the spring of 2003, she decided to send him at least one care package a day and keep a blog of the events that occurred in Iraq and Afghanistan as an electronic scrapbook for Brandon when he returned.

What started out as a mother's small commitment to her son has now turned into Soldiers Angels, an all volunteer organization with more than 200,000 members who aid and assist deployed soldiers all over the world. Soldiers Angels sends care packages and letters of encouragement to those in the field, provides first response backpacks and blankets of hope to the wounded, voice activated laptops to soldier amputees and "living trees" to the fallen hero's families.

Patti has received numerous awards, accommodations, certificates and tons of letters of appreciation from Soldiers, Airmen, Sailors, Marines, Family Members, Doctors, Nurses, Field Commanders, Sergeants, Colonels, Lieutenants, Generals, The Military Order of Purple Hearts, the Veterans of Foreign Wars, the Surgeon General of the Army, Mayors and Congressmen, the Secretary of Defense and the President of the United States (to name just a few). The Smithsonian Institute asked and was granted permission to host Patti's blog she started years ago, brandonblog.com which is still updated daily.

Patti Patton-Bader is a regular guest on numerous radio shows around the country and the stories of her and other Soldiers Angels deeds and actions are published in local newspapers and magazines almost daily. Her newsletter alone raises several millions of dollars a year in donations. She takes not even one dime for compensation and does all of this from her bed with a laptop computer, a big screen TV and a cell phone. Patti has Hepatitis C and fibrosis of the liver and is often confined to her bed. She is in extreme pain most waking hours. I should know—I'm her husband.

My wife is an amazing example of selflessness, patriotism, caring and dedication. Like an angel, she has anonymously and thanklessly touched the lives of many people she doesn't know. She works from the time she gets up in the early morning to the time she falls asleep from exhaustion late at night. Patti Patton-Bader is a true American patriot.

—Submitted by Debbie Gregory
   President and CEO, www.MilitaryConnection.com