A Lost Phone, a Lot of Determination, and a Touch of USO Magic

A Lost Phone, a Lot of Determination — and a Touch of USO Magic At the USO, we often say we’re here to keep service members connected — and sometimes, that mission becomes literal. On August 28, Marine Cpl. Bell departed Osan Air Base after completing his TDY assignment. Shortly after arriving in Japan, he realized his cellphone had gone missing — left behind in a base taxi in Korea. With critical personal information and contacts on the device, he reached out to the USO Osan team on September 1, sending an email with the subject line: “Lost my phone in taxi – Need a miracle.” Sunny, our dedicated USO Osan Center Operations Manager, immediately got to work. She contacted the base taxi company the same day, located the missing phone, and picked it up to secure it at the USO. Getting the phone back to its owner, however, turned out to be more complex than expected. Due to international regulations on shipping items with lithium batteries, mailing the phone to Camp Foster, Japan was not possible. FedEx and USPS both declined delivery to Japan, and the U.S. post office could only process the package if it was shipped stateside via ground. Rather than giving up, the Osan team found a solution: since Cpl. Bell would soon rotate back to the United States, we would ship the phone directly to his home address to ensure it reached him safely. A special thank-you goes to active-duty Air Force volunteer William Orlandi, who assisted Sunny by researching every possible FedEx and USPS option — one more example of how volunteers make the USO mission possible. (William has logged an incredible 2,148 lifetime volunteer hours with the USO!) On September 9, before the phone even arrived, Cpl. Bell took time to stop by USO Camp Foster and send a video message expressing his appreciation to the USO Osan team. Then on September 23, our team received a handwritten thank-you card from him — a small gesture that meant so much.

Why This Story Matters: Returning a cellphone might seem like a simple task — but in this case, it took persistence, teamwork, volunteer gumption, and creativity to make it happen. Moments like this highlight what makes the USO special: when service members feel stuck, we step in; when things get complicated, we don’t stop until we find a solution. To Cpl. Bell — we’re glad your phone made it home. To Sunny and Bill — thank you for living the USO mission every single day. The USO keeps service members connected — sometimes in more ways than one.