38 holiday wishes
come true

An islander secures tickets home
for isle Guard troops in Texas

Nearly 40 Hawaii families will have a happier holiday season thanks to Ame Frey.

With donations, the Kaneohe resident has gotten 38 plane tickets for Iraq-bound members of Hawaii Army National Guard's 29th Brigade who cannot afford the holiday trip back to the islands from Texas, where they have been training since early October.

But she has 106 more soldiers on her waiting list, and she is hoping for a last-minute surge in donations.

The soldiers get off for winter break Dec. 20 and are responsible for paying their own way home. Frey said she will accept donations up until their leave begins.

And she is hopeful she will get enough tickets for everyone on the waiting list, especially with at least $10,000 in promised donations from Zanzabar Night Club.

All proceeds from the club's fifth-anniversary party will go to the fund. The party is set for Dec. 16, and the cover charge is $10 per person.

Jim Boersema, a managing partner for Zanzabar and an active-duty Army colonel, said a businessman has agreed to make up any shortfall to make sure they reach the $10,000 goal.

Boersema said when he heard about Frey's fund, he knew he had to do something -- especially, he added, because this holiday could be the last some soldiers spend with their families.

The soldiers will spend a year in Iraq before heading back to the islands.

Frey's husband is a Marine on duty in Iraq. He will not be able to come home for the holidays.

Frey said tickets from Texas to Oahu cost about $1,000. Some of the soldiers in the unit from American Samoa have had to pay $1,900, while those from Guam are paying $2,800 to get home.

To give to the fund, send a check to any Bank of Hawaii made out to the Home for the Holidays account. Those interested can also donate their Hawaiian Airlines miles to the fund. For more information, call Frey at 235-6832.