Our History

In 1999, Chief Master Sergeant Rick Honeywell was deployed to a four-month stint in Kuwait. To his dismay, he found himself on a base that had no recreation facilities – no movies, no library, no gymnasium.

Chief Honeywell's wife, Chrissy, and other Air Force spouses responded by sending the squadron a gigantic care package of candy, games and books. Chrissy's father, Dan Bowers, became inspired by the situation. He selected paperback books from his own shelves, then turned to others for contributions. Soon had collected cases of books and shipped them all to Rick in Kuwait. "Before anyone realized it," recalls Chrissy, “There were 500 books over in Kuwait, and Rick's squadron was building bookshelves.” Operation Paperback was born.

Today, this family has been joined by volunteers around the nation. Individual citizens, American families and community groups have sent over 500,000 books since 1999. Some folks participate by sending a few books at a time, others clear their shelves and hunt for paperbacks at yard sales and used book stores. Every volunteer gives what they can in their own way, and each helps remind our troops that we are thinking of them.

Operation Paperback began by sending books to troops in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. We now ship books to locations as far as Afghanistan, Iraq, Bosnia, Kosovo, Korea, Italy, Iceland, Bahrain, Hungary, Japan, Turkey, Navy Ships at Sea, military hospitals located within the US and USOs at US Airport transit points.

Over the years, we have earned commendations from the mayor of Baltimore, the governor of Maryland and the United States Junior Chamber of Commerce. We have also been featured on television and in print media. While we value the praise we have received at home, the words that mean the most to us are those that come directly from the troops. They let us know that our efforts are appreciated every day.

In Loving Memory Sadly, on 04 November 2002, after a short and intense battle, CMS Rick Honeywell succumbed to multiple myeloma, a cancer of the bone marrow. He now rests in Arlington National Cemetery among those with whom he was so proud to serve. He continues to serve as an inspiration to all who knew him.

Chief Master Sergeant Fredrick Honeywell