The spirit of the season for those who deserve it most

Ralph Peters:

POST readers really support our troops: In response to the call to help build the new Warrior and Family Support Center for our severely wounded veterans, more than 2,000 of you stepped forward with donations.

And those donations totaled over a quarter of a million dollars - $263,714 as of midday Wednesday. And the folks at Returning Heroes Home are still counting.

Oh, and that figure doesn't include two significant stock transfers pending from Post readers.

God bless you all! Despite the financial demands we all face in the holiday season, you scraped together what you could to help our wounded warriors and their families.

Our troops know it. And they're grateful. To those who've lost limbs or suffered grievous burns - or both - you've shown that you care.

And their families know it, too.

You've made their Christmas and Hannukah season rich beyond the amount of the donations themselves - you saluted and helped.

Those soldiers and Marines you read about will still celebrate Christmas this year in that one overcrowded room down at the Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio. But next year's wounded warriors should have a wonderful, welcoming facility for the 2008 holiday season - thanks to you and all the others (not least, the patriots of San Antonio) who've given to this worthy cause.

Ground's been broken and construction can now proceed. And that new center won't just serve today's wounded heroes. It's going to be built to last. Soldiers, Marines, Sailors, Airmen and Coast Guard veterans from future conflicts for generations to come will benefit from the gratitude you've shown to today's service members.

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We should not forget these guys anytime of the year, but lets especially remember what they have given us this time of year.