Greetings Can Be Sent to Troops

Southern Californians can send greetings to the nation’s armed forces throughout the world by recording brief messages to be broadcast by Voice of America.

KABC-AM (790) and the Voice of America are setting up booths at several Southland malls in coming weeks where anyone can record a 15-second message. The messages will be broadcast from Dec. 7 to Jan. 31.

The Voice of America reaches 91 million listeners worldwide, officials said.

Nelkane Benton, a community affairs consultant for KABC, said the goal is to give people a chance to wish the troops happy holidays while also sending messages of encouragement to the rest of the world.

“This is about voices from America saying peace and love and freedom,” Benton said. “These are just folks, just Americans, saying how we feel.”

At Panorama City Mall on Saturday, Jean Cunningham White, visiting from Detroit, urged peace and understanding in her message.

“I just think we should all come together,” White said. “We should not be fighting. Even if we have different opinions, we can all get along.”

Booths will be operating Saturday at Lakewood Mall in Lakewood, Nov. 18 at Cerritos Center in Cerritos, Nov. 25 at Westside Pavilion in West Los Angeles and Dec. 2 at Disney’s Day of Giving at Edison Field in Orange County.