Back in early 90s' when Operation Desert shield was in place in an attempt to push Iraq back out of Kuwait and before the ground action that became Desert Storm took place the Allegheny Valley React group I belonged to helped get messages from troops in the field back home to their family's in a much unusual way Via a Fax Machine . Now remember this was before the Internet took off and was in its young days and here was no Skype etc. and most homes did not have computers let alone internet.
One of our members John S. a WWII vet was a Draftsman who had a home office and he knew some Engineers who where doing work for oil company's in Kuwait and they arranged with our member to allow US Soldiers in the field to send a fax messages back home on the engineers office fax to Johns fax with its old fashioned thermal paper .
The engineer would go in field and get written notes from the soldiers then fax them to John every Saturday morning we would cut them apart put them in an envelope with a note how they came to be and mail them to the soldiers family's.
Many where asking for food items from home or to just say hello they where safe and hoped to be home soon.
We did this for several months and where even written up in the now defunct Penn Hills Progress on our efforts . But when the effort to turn Sadam and his troops back failed and it went to Operation Desert storm the engineer had to cut off further faxes.
Was what we doing possibly harmful to national security probably not as not only troops but officers sent messages home via fax so some one knew we where doing it and the names where all of American origin so chances secret messages where being passed where unlikely but yes I am sure Pentagon never knew we where doing it and if they did they never condoned it.
We got a couple thank you letters from family's who got the messages and all in all it was satisfying helping our troops.
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