Best Christmas Gifts for Deployed Military

Ever wonder what a deployed military person might want or need?

It's Christmastime, so let's take a look at some practical gifts first.

Top Practical Gifts for Military
Hand sanitizer.
Name brand, solid, comfortable sunglasses.
A bulletproof, well-built pen.
Bags and backpacks that are very durable.
Tough, indestructible small, bright, reliable flashlight.
Top of the line, portable multi-tool.
Memory foam pillow, made to be carried, lightweight, comfortable.
Fingerless gloves.
Cotton socks and/or underwear.
Snacks, hot chocolate packs, gum, energy bars, non-perishable jerky, etc.
*Note that all products above are called to be very, very durable to withstand the hard life of a military

Other gift ideas for deployed military
Headphones, earphones, noise-cancelling.
Bluetooth, water-proof speaker.
Tablet, complete with amazon prime, hulu, netflix, and anything else you can stuff on it.

There are thousands of organizations that claim they help veterans and send care packages. However, we have come up with two that we have seen that they actually get care packages to troops. We are not knocking others, but we have chosen only two that we have found have good reputations. We are confident that if you give to either of these, it will get to our troops.

Operation Care and Comfort: https://www.occ-usa.org/

Operation Gratitude: https://www.operationgratitude.com/

Hank Gowdy, Baseball and Army Veteran

Hank Gowdy was a darn good baseball player in 1914. He was catcher with these "Miracle" Boston Braves. They beat the highly favorite Philadelphia Athletics led by Connie Mack. Hank batted a hefty .515 in this World Series, as well as hitting the only homerun. During this so-called "dead ball" era, the role of catcher was quite difficult. Bunts and stolen base attempts were very common. Gowdy twice led the leagues in putting base stealers out. Pitchers made the catcher's job even more difficult, as doctoring the ball was legal and prevalent.

But we think his best claim to fame is the fact that he was the first Major Leaguer to enlist for World War I. He enlisted in 1917 and saw considerable combat. He returned to baseball in 1919 at his old position.

Hank Gowdy spent time with both the Braves and Giants, totaling 17 years in the Majors.

Of course that's not all. Mr. Gowdy, at the age of 53, enlisted into World War II. He was promoted to major. Serving at Fort Benning, near Columbus, Georgia, the baseball field was renamed Gowdy Field.

So, Hank Gowdy is the only Big Leaguer to serve in both World Wars.

Gowdy's talent as catcher and longevity, could be grounds for The Hall of Fame. But of course not putting up sensational offensive numbers have hurt his cause. Even though he was great defensively.

He actually broke a Hall of Fame custom. Players are only supposed to get 15 chances, but he received votes in 17 years.

He does hold that record. The most times on a ballot, and never being voted in.

Perhaps the Veteran's Committee should be retooled, somewhat.

17 years in the Big Leagues, .270 hitter.

>>Hank Gowdy stats on Baseball Reference

>>Baseball and Steroids