Did you know that our red envelopes go to every zip code in America, plus military bases around the world? Thank you to our veterans for their service and for being great members. Part of our 25th anniversary celebrations is a survey to hear from DVD Netflix members about their red envelope memories.
We appreciated hearing from these veterans, and are honored that movies in the mail were an uplifting memory from their deployments.
“I was stationed in Korea from 1993-1999 as a soldier (18th Medical Command), and then accepted a civil service job with the Army in Korea (United Nation Command Military Armistice Commission) from 2000-2015. Because there are many military and veterans that stay and live overseas, the DVD Netflix service is their way to stay connected to the USA.
Because we only got certain TV shows on Armed Forces Network (AFN), many used Netflix to watch many many TV shows, series, and movies during their deployment.
Red envelopes were our life lines overseas, and allowed us our own special library to American television and movies.”
—Robert Henault
“When we were overseas in the military, there were no streaming services available internationally yet. Netflix DVD was our only way to get entertainment. So much anticipation! There was no real way to track them, so it was a nice surprise to get them in our box. Master at Arms 3rd class.
Scrolling through our history, I think just in general what we love most about Netflix DVD is the ability to get seasons of shows that interest us that we would otherwise have to have cable for. We cut that cord a long time ago, but with the demise of rental stores, if not for your service, the only other choice would be a ton of individual subscriptions. I really appreciate having access to everything through one provider.”
—Andrew and Maura Harris, members since 2008
“My neighbor and friend from our service in the Air Force who was also disabled loved to come over and share movie nights. He and his wife, I and mine were close friends.
On his death bed at the hospital, he told me he will miss the great movie nights! He died in 2005 and I stopped Netflix DVDs for about eight years and then started back up in his memory (and for the great movies)!”
“COL Mike Marra, U.S. Air Force Retired here. Deployed to many places and was always happy to get Netflix DVDs to keep us going. Back in those days, it was disc only and we would order them overseas – it was the ONLY way back then to get current movies before streaming started. I was an early member of Netflix when it first started, and have been a loyal customer for 20+ years!
Served in the Persian Gulf War, Bosnia, Somalia, Haiti, Iraq, Central Asia, Africa, and with Air Force One. Being overseas serving in the military and getting good movies is a favorite memory of DVD Netflix.
Thanks, DVD Netflix, for being there for our veterans!”
—Mark Marra, member since 2005
“I am impressed with the selection that includes older films and historic films. I worked in theaters as a projectionist and manager over three decades and have always had a love of film.
I loved managing our military theaters around the world.
Netflix DVD has been just as important to me for being probably the most affordable source available. Just like in my work of showing a film... Whether you’re a service member or civilian, we all have our issues, our troubles... But, for a couple hours of the day we can go into a theater, or open that red envelope, and for that next moment in time in our lives we are worry-free.
We leave all that load on us at the door... And if Hollywood got it right, we were able to decompress and remove all these toxins of stress and relax. Then after the credits roll... We put that load back on our shoulders and leave to go attend another part of our lives–unless we stay for a double feature! I especially like those days where all three DVDs arrive at the same time.”
—Jim McKane, US Army Ret SFC
June 6, 1944, one of history's most significant markers, is immortalized as D-Day. That day, 160,000 Allied troops landed on the beaches of Normandy, France. This operation, characterized with sacrifice and bravery, began the liberation of Western Europe from Nazi control and led to the Allied victory of World War II.
We were deeply moved and honored when we received the following letter from longtime DVD subscriber 95-year-old Jack Ramsey's family.
“Loved getting Netflix DVDs when I was deployed or overseas while I was in the military!
So, I can't think of a specific favorite movie I got from Netflix, because I've seen so many. I will say that it was great to be able to watch all of the old Doctor Who TV episodes, starting from the very beginning. I was really only aware of Tom Baker, the fourth Doctor. When they rebooted the series in 2005 (?), I immediately got hooked and I was so excited that DVD Netflix had all the old shows (those that are still available), so I could catch up on all the Doctor Who history!
When I was overseas, I was so happy to see that Netflix was able to ship DVDs to military addresses (like APO and AE). It took longer than usual, obviously, but it was always a good day when I got that little red envelope in my mailbox. This was before streaming was available, so it was really nice to be able to get the movies and series I wanted to see that weren't available to rent or buy in my little corner of the world
This was especially true when I was deployed in a combat environment. When I got those red envelopes, I had something to look forward to when I was able to go back to my living quarters for down time. Thanks, DVD Netflix!”
—Ahren Schwericke, member since 2005
“While deployed, my son asking if we can start subscribing to Netflix. It connected us knowing that he didn’t have to think about war, but could watch a good movie.”
“People don't remember how hard it used to be to watch an entire TV show in series—sometimes if you missed an episode, you would never be able to see it again. Or if your local video store had it, other people would do the same thing, so you would have to wait weeks to months to watch your episodes.
DVD Netflix was a game changer so you could have 3 discs full of episodes ready to go, like a manual streaming marathon, LOL. It was also great to be able to catch up and see everything I missed from being deployed and stationed overseas for a decade in the Armed Forces.”
—Jason Gerepka, member since 2004
“Always looked forward to getting a new disc while we were stationed in Okinawa, Japan while I was in the Marine Corps. It was like having a piece of home delivered to us in the mail.”
I have gotten the red envelopes even while stationed overseas with the military in Japan, it was great to get those red envelopes over there.
—Kristina Remick, member since 2009
“It was especially helpful while deployed. I watched half a movie almost every night. Stoked to see what’s next. I didn’t often check my queue, so the content of the red envelope was often a surprise. Made me happy for some down time.”
“When I was stationed overseas, DVD Netflix was the only way to get ahold of the content my friends and I wanted to see.”
—William Frank, member since 2005
“I was overseas in the military and the Netflix DVDs were a welcome break from the local language television.”
—Javier Gomez, member since 2013