My Dad just sent me the following email and I thought it was entertaining enough to add it here. Enjoy:

Tampons to the rescue in Iraq!! Don't worry, it's a good story, and worth reading. It's even humorous in parts. It's from the mother of a Marine in Iraq.My son told me how wonderful the care packages we had sent them were and wanted me to tell everyone thank you. He said that one guy we'll call Marine X, got a girl care package and everyone was giving him a hard time. My son said, "Marine X got some really nice smelling lo tion and everyone really likes it, so every time he goes to sleep they steal it from him." I told my son I was really sorry about the mistake, and if he wanted I would send Marine X another package. He told me not to worry about Marine X because every time I send something to him, Marine X thinks it's for him too. He said when my husband and I sent the last care package, Marine X came over to his cot picked up the box, started fishing through it, and said, "What'd we get this time?" My son said they had the most fun with Marine X's package. He said he wasn't sure who we were sending the pack to, but the panties were size 20, and he said one of the guys got on top of the Humvee and jumped off with the panties over his head and yelled, "Look at me, I'm an Airborne Ranger!!!!" One of the guys at tached the panties to an antenna and it blew in the wind like a windsock. He said it entertained them for quite awhile. Then of course.......they had those tampons. When he brought this up, my imagination just went running, but he continued. My son said they had to go on a mission and Marine X wanted the Chap-Stick and lotion for the trip. He grabbed a bunch of the items from his care package and got in the Humvee. As luck would have it he grabbed the tampons too, and my son said everyone was teasing him about "not forgetting his feminine hygiene products." He said things went well for a while, then the convoy was ambushed and a Marine was shot. He said the wound was pretty clean, but it was deep. He said they were administering first aid but couldn't get the bleeding to slow down, and someone said, "Hey! Use Marine X's tampons!" My son said they put the tampon in the wound. At this point my son profoundly told Me, "Mom, did you know that tampons expand?" ("Well....yeah !") They successfully slowed the bleeding until the guy got better medical attention. When they went to check on him later The surgeon told them, "You guys saved his life. If you hadn't stopped that bleeding he would have bled to death." My Son said, "Mom, the tampons sent by the Marine Moms by mistake saved a Marine's life." At this point I asked him, "Well, what did you do with the rest of the tampons?" He said, "Oh, we divided them up and we all have them in our flak jackets,and I kept two for our first aid kit."I am absolutely amazed by the ingenuity of our Marines. I can't believe that something that started out as a mistake then turned into a joke, ended up saving someone's life. My sister said she doesn't believe in mistakes. She believes God had a plan all along. She b elieves that "female care package" was sent to Marine X to save our Marine. Either way, our efforts have boosted the morale of many Marines, provided much needed items for our troops, AND saved the life of a Marine! God bless every one of you for your efforts and hard work, and God bless our Marines, Army, Navy, Air Force and all our military service personnel. GOD BLESS AMERICA AND KEEP IT SAFE!

Now I'm not sure if this was the "original discovery" of the use of tampons for dressing wounds - I don't think it is, but I have heard that many people carry them in their personal gear for just this purpose. No, I don't need anyone to send me any tampons - or smelly lotion or big giant panties, either. I just can't stop picturing some Marine jumping off a vehicle with a pair of "bloomers" over his head. Hysterical...

Okay everyone, have an "AFGHAN-TASTIC day" - okay don't really, cuz that would mean doing 14 more hours of the same shit you've already done for the last 90 days straight, but I think the term is pretty funny. I've also added "Asscrackistan" and "go flour your balls" to my vocabulary. My parent's must be so pround... Maybe some things I shouldn't share with the whole family..? Aaah, I'll let you decide. If you are offended, don't read that last part... There, problem solved...

Michael