WEST CHESTER TWP. - Dana Day's U.S. Marines T-shirt was getting a little worn out. But she wanted to continue showing support for the troops, especially her nephew, Lance Cpl. Kalym Wagers, who is with the 1st Marine Expeditionary Unit in Iraq.

Dog tags stamped "Operation Iraqi Freedom" are being sold to buy supplies for troops. (WCPO-TV) | ZOOM |

So she bought two dog tags, one inscribed with "Operation Iraqi Freedom" and the other with her nephew's name.

"You can only wear a T-shirt for so long," said Day, of West Chester. "I have my dog tags on wherever I go, and so do my daughters."

Day said people began to comment on her tags, which sparked an idea to sell them and use the profits to support the troops. Day's daughters, Alisa and Kendall, are helping with the project.

"It helps me feel like I am doing something for (Kalym) because he is over there doing so much for the country," said Alisa, a junior at Lakota East High School. "I think it's neat that so many people can respect the troops in this way."

About 500 tags are ordered and are being sold for $6 each. Day hopes to begin turning a profit by the weekend. About 100 tags have already been sold. "It is actually going much better than I expected," she said.

The profits will be used to purchase supplies for troops stationed overseas. "We will probably just adopt a troop and send them the supplies," she said.

Students at Lakota East High School purchased 100 dog tags from Day and plan to sell them in school.

The tags can be purchased at Designing Women Hair Salon in Mason, Steve's Meat and Deli in West Chester and Rodney's Unlimited Hair Inc. in Fairfield. E-mail Dogtag4usa@aol.com.

- Rob Phillips