WATERLOO -- Sgt. Les Canfield has just returned home after a year in Iraq.

One of the things that got him through the long period away from home was a box.

It was full of nuts, candy, games, toilet articles -- and love from the folks back home.

He might have known some of them. Others, he didn't.

It didn't matter. They were all from home -- a group of union and nonunion John Deere Waterloo workers and other volunteers, for a project called "Iowa's Bravest." They've been sending gift boxes to troops with local ties in Iraq and Afghanistan for the past 3 1/2 years.

"I had received many boxes from Iowa's Bravest while 'over there' and I have to tell you it was a real good feeling getting remembered by fellow Iowans," Canfield said.

Iowa's Bravest will be packing and shipping 400 more boxes to troops for the holidays at 4 p.m. Friday -- Veterans Day eve -- at United Auto Workers Local 838, 2615 Washington St. Many will be headed for 200-plus members of the Waterloo-based Iowa Army National Guard's 1st Battalion, 133rd Infantry "Ironman Battalion."

It almost matches the 450 sent out last year when members of the Waterloo-based C Battery, 1st Battalion 14th Marines reservists were serving in Iraq.

The boxes go to National Guard, reservists and active-duty troops with local ties, Iowa's Bravest organizer Julie Ehlers said.

"This year's project has been a huge success," Ehlers said. "After this year's project we will have sent 1,625 boxes or 26,000 pounds of stuff" since the Iraq war began in March 2003.

Ehlers said each box has an approximate value of $150, including the $20 postage to get it there.

"Our community has been very generous with their donations" Ehlers said. "That really tells me that we have a community full of people willing to show their soldiers that we care and appreciate everything that they are doing for us.

"I don't think they can hear that enough," Ehlers said.

Young people provided a major source of support for the project, Ehlers said. She estimated that school children, Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts donated around $8,000 worth of items.

Iowa's Bravest is becoming a regional project, Ehlers said.

"We want to 'wow' our soldiers when they open the box," Ehlers said. "Many of them have commented that it 'exploded' when they opened it and couldn't get everything back in after they took it out. That's exactly the reaction that we want. We don't want it to be an ordinary gift. They deserve more then just 'ordinary.' "

The process of packing and shipping the boxes has been practically worked out to a science, particularly with the number of Deere workers involved. But there are many others. Ehlers said she expects soldiers and Marines who have received packages in the past to be there helping out, as well service members' families and members of the community.

"Our soldiers and their families are making huge sacrifices every day and there are many of us that just want to let them know how much they are appreciated," Ehlers said.

That appreciation isn't lost on Canfield. His wife was helping fill a box for a West High student seeking donations. "When she got the box filled I went with her to this young man's house, I felt that I needed to thank him and shake his hand for his volunteerism. It was an honor for me to meet a young man that took the effort to make a difference for the soldiers fighting in Iraq.

"I know what those boxes mean," Canfield said. "I also know that there are many soldiers who might not get anything if it wasn't for Iowa's Bravest sending out these boxes. It can turn a bad day full circle when you receive one."

For information about Iowa's Bravest, call Ehlers at (319) 232-3795 or e-mail to IowasBravest@IowasBravest.org.

Contact Pat Kinney at (319) 291-1484 or Pat.Kinney@wcfcourier.com.