Henderson couple sends boxes of Beanie Babies to troops in Afghanistan

By Paul Takahashi

Friday, April 15, 2011 | 1:55 a.m.

With piles of boxes scattered around makeshift tables, Elaine “Lanie” Berg’s living room in her Henderson home looks a bit like a mini-warehouse for “Operation Beanie Baby.”

Since June 2010, the 79-year-old great-grandmother has sent over more than 1,200 of the small stuffed animals to soldiers in the 101st Airborne Division stationed in Kandahar, Afghanistan.

The Beanie Babies have helped forge strong relationships between Afghan villagers and the Division’s 10,000 troops, she said. The small gifts are a gesture of goodwill that has helped save countless lives, she added.

“Some of our boys are wearing them as a talisman to remind them of home,” Berg said. “But on occasion, I’ve heard villagers have warned our troops of an ambush.”

Berg and her husband, Joel, 82, began sending care packages to the 101st Airborne Division a few months after their grandson, 1st Lt. Danny Plumb, was sent over with the division in May 2010. Soon thereafter, Plumb, 25, asked his grandparents to ship over a few toys for some of the Afghan children he met.

“Danny felt badly for the kids,” Elaine said. “All they’ve known is war.”

Elaine had amassed a large collection of Beanie Babies at the time – about 500 of them over a decade – as a way to connect with her six granddaughters and one great-granddaughter. It was a ‘90s craze that sated the “animal nut” in her, said Elaine, who retired about a decade ago from her job as a nurse at a New York Veterans Affairs hospital.

“I loved nursing, and I miss it, but if I were to do life over again, I would’ve become a veterinarian,” she said, pointing to a large stuffed animal tiger and camel sitting in her living room.

Now, her personal collection of Beanie Babies has been “decimated” to about 100, but giving up her collection has been worth it, Elaine said.

"Normally, I'm not a collector,” she said. “I've collected two things in my life: David Winter Cottages and Beanie Babies."

Every couple of weeks, Elaine and Joel send out a few boxes, which cost about $12.50 each to ship to Afghanistan. They reckon they have sent about 130 boxes to Afghanistan and to the soldiers’ families stationed at Ft. Campbell in Kentucky.

“I shows somebody is thinking of them,” Joel said. “It’s about winning the peace.”

The Bergs have a long history of service to their country. Joel’s father fought in World War I, Joel was an Air Force captain in the Korean conflict, and their son, Alan Berg, is a career Air Force colonel who served in Desert Storm.

Now, the Bergs have a grandson fighting in Afghanistan, they said.

“In a small way, I think I’ve contributed to shooting down the Taliban,” Elaine said. “Most people don’t care about what’s going on unless it affects them directly. The kids over there are fighting for our way of life.”

The Bergs have expanded their care package offerings to include snacks, donated playing cards and energy drinks, Elaine said.

Although it’s largely a two-person operation, the Bergs have received support from neighborhood organizations and businesses, they said. Local supermarkets have allowed them to seek donations at the stores, and religious organizations across the valley have contributed money, they said.

In October, the local chapter of the Jewish War Veterans, Post 65, donated $5,000 to the Bergs to continue their work. With that money, the Bergs – longtime JWV members – sent about 50 boxes to Afghanistan for the holidays, they said.

In turn, the soldiers have sent back letters and emails of their accomplishments: constructing a new school, rebuilding a mosque and clearing landmines from farmland. Soldiers in Afghanistan have also dubbed Elaine, “Beanie Baby Grandma.”

“As they say, it fills the cockles of my heart,” she said of her “labor of love.” “When I hear (Afghan) farmers gave our guys a baby sheep (as a gift)… it’s heartwarming.”