Stephen King Donation Helps Bring Troops Home for Christmas

Members of a Maine Army National Guard Unit will be home for Christmas, thanks in large part to a $13,000 donation from writer and Maine resident Stephen King and his wife Tabitha.

To be precise, the donation is $12,999. “Steve is such a numbers person,” said Julie Eugley in an interview with the Bangor Daily News. “When we were approached for $13,000, he thought that number was a little unlucky. He didn’t want any bad whammies associated with these troops.” So Eugley, a personal assistant to the author, chipped in the remaining dollar. The donation will help pay for two buses for the 150 members of the Bravo Company of the 3rd Battalion, 172nd Infantry Unit to return to Maine for a few days’ leave over Christmas. Just a few days ago, the unit left for training at Camp Atterbury, Indiana, before being sent to Afghanistan in January. They were scheduled to have a few days off over Christmas, but the soldiers were on their own for getting back. The money was solicited by Operation Community Support, a Bangor-based military assistance nonprofit agency founded in 2003. The Kings’ donation is the largest ever received by the agency, and was given from their personal finances – not their foundation, according to Eugley. “It was a pretty easy sell. I asked Steve. Steve said yes,” Eugley said.