SUQUAMISH — One North Kitsap school is making this Valentine’s Day a little sweeter for troops in Afghanistan.

The students at Suquamish Elementary prepared Valentines for the soldiers, cutting out paper hearts, adding glitter, and writing personal notes.

“Some of them added glitter, some of them added doilies … they got very creative,” said Brian Byers, the instructional support teacher who coordinated the effort.

Byers said some of the messages were as funny as they were sweet — he chuckled over the one that said, “Thank you for saving my life. You’re awesome.”

Byers added, “Awesome was spelled O-S-O-M.”

The Valentines are part of a larger program called “Operation Valentine,” which will funnel hundreds of the cards to soldiers who are participating in Operation Enduring Freedom. The effort was started by the International Neighbors Club One, an organization based in Washington D.C.; the Valentines will travel on a February visit to Afghanistan with General Richard Myers, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

In December, a s similar effort collected 13,000 holiday cookies and cards. The programs are coordinated by Myers’ wife, Mary Jo Myers.

“I just wanted to thank the soldiers, that’s all,” said fourth-grader Tung Chu, who wrote “Thank you for protecting our freedom” in his card, as well as, “I hope you catch the terrorists.”

ASB president Hannah McCluskey helped coordinate the effort.

“They enjoyed doing it,” she said of the students. “They just thanked them (the soldiers) for going out there.”

Fourth-grader Erika Ballard, who is in the same class as Chu, wrote “Come back safely.”

She said students were given plenty of creativity with which to create their cards.

“Some made cut-out hearts. Some made cards,” Ballard said. One student, she said, cut out a white heart and pasted it on a pink card.

Byers said the students put their name, grade, and the name of their school on the cards.

While he’s not sure if letters are traveling out of Afghanistan, Byers hopes a few will make their way back to Suquamish Elementary.

“We hope the kids get something back,” he said.