Roger L. Smith

CLEVELAND, Tenn. — Retired Sgt. 1st Class Roger L. Smith took his Bronze Star medal for meritorious service from his pocket Saturday and gave it to Kaylee Marie Radzyminski, the teenage founder of Tunes4TheTroops.

Mr. Smith, who will train to become a Cleveland police officer this fall, was one of dozens who turned out Saturday morning at Cleveland High School to pack boxes of CDs and DVDs for shipment to American military units in war zones.

“I have been on the receiving end of what you are doing,” Mr. Smith, who served three tours in Iraq, told those gathered for the so-called packing party. “So I had to be here today to be on the sending end this time.”

Miss Radzyminski founded Tunes4TheTroops as a high school freshman. Now, as she begins her senior year at Cleveland High School, her project has grown to include 200 collection points across the United States. Millions of dollars worth of entertainment has been sent to troops overseas to brighten the few relaxation hours they have in combat zones.

She hugged and thanked Mr. Smith for his tribute to the project.

“Obviously I could not do this all by myself. Because of you guys here today we will be able to send 270 boxes overseas,” Miss Radzyminski told the group.

Since the project began three years ago, Tunes4TheTroops and Miss Radzyminski have received national recognition and support from many businesses and civic organizations.

Earlier this year she was a national winner of Prudential’s Spirit of Community award and featured in a heroes segment on CNN. Feature stories are scheduled by several publications aimed at young people during the back-to-school period this year.

Along with the entertainment donations, the project also needs money to cover packaging and shipping costs.