MORTON — For three years in a row, Girl Scout Troop 4190 from Blessed Sacrament Parish in Morton has shown its care and concern for U.S. troops serving in Iraq or Afghanistan by treating them to boxes of their organization’s famous cookies.

In 2007, what was then Brownie Troop 190 decided to send one box to each of the 40 members of an Army National Guard unit that had been deployed to northern Iraq. It was the unit of Black Hawk helicopter pilot William Hatley, whose niece Alyssa VanDyke belongs to Troop 4190.

Their special service project that year was so successful that the girls were able to send 12 cases of cookies — about 140 boxes of cookies.

In gratitude, Alyssa’s uncle sent the Blessed Sacrament troop a U.S. flag from a helicopter he had flown over Baghdad, with a certificate naming the girls honorary members of his unit. Troop 4190 has also received a flag from a Peoria reserve unit stationed in Kuwait.

Last year, Troop 4190 was able to ship 350 boxes of cookies to three units overseas.

They topped that this spring by shipping 500 boxes to five units late last month.

The cookie project is possible thanks to the generosity and support of the families of Blessed Sacrament Parish and the Morton community.

When the 15 members of the troop — all but one of them students at Blessed Sacrament School — do their cookie sales, they ask people if they would be willing to buy an extra box or two to send to the troops. A cookie booth is also set up for weekend Masses at Blessed Sacrament Church.

“There were so many donations this year that it completely covered the shipping costs,” said Mrs. Sarah VanDyke, mother of Alyssa and one of the Scout troop’s leaders.

The units that have been sent cookies are all connected to Troop 4190 by interwoven ties of family and friendship, according to Mrs. VanDyke.