The Redmond VFW Post 2995 at 4330 148th Ave. N.E. in Redmond will hold a memorial service for two local soldiers — Shane Swanberg of Kirkland and Joseph White of Bellevue — who died in battles overseas.

The service will be Thursday at 6:30 p.m. at the VFW by the site of two trees that have been planted in the soldiers’ honor. The soldiers’ mothers, Linda Swanberg and Robyn White, are also volunteers at the VFW. Both families have been presented with portraits of their sons drawn by Edmonds artist and Vietnam War veteran Michael Reagan of the Fallen Heroes Project. Reagan will also be present at the service.

Following the service at 7:30 p.m., VFW volunteers will begin packing boxes of comfort items to be sent to troops serving in front line units in Afghanistan.

“They don’t have any comforts at all,” said VFW member Dick Watson about the package recipients.

Watson said they have been sending about 100 to 150 packages every month for seven years and have sent about 12,000 boxes overseas altogether. Items are collected at local Eastside Fred Meyer stores.

To learn more or to participate in a packing night, email Watson at dickwatson44@gmail.com or John Kenny at kjjkenny@aol.com. More information is also available online at vfwpost-2995.org.