Operation Toasty Toes was founded by Mrs. Irene Silliman of Madison, Ohio, now an 80+-year-old grandmother. Being at loose ends in December 1997, the first Christmas after losing her husband Bob, Irene received a letter from her grandson, David Ward, who was (at that time) a U.S. Navy cryptologist stationed on the U.S.S. Carney in the Persian Gulf. In this letter, he thanked his grandmother for some homemade brownies she'd sent him. David told his grandmother how cold his feet were, and asked if she could make him and a few buddies her famous slippers, the ones like Grand-dad's.

This letter's request was a perfect remedy to use up time. Irene's husband Bob had kept a pair of these slippers with him, while being a POW for two years in Korea. Irene's slippers were well known among her family and friends. Her initial goal was to send a box of 100 slippers. She enlisted the help of two friends and managed to meet that goal. The box was dropped on the deck of David's ship via helicopter. The officer of the deck had no idea what this box labeled OPERATION TOASTY TOES was. He told of seeing a young sailor, jumping up and down, yelling, "They're here, the booties are here!" The 100 pairs were gone in no time at all.

David contacted Irene again, asking for 220 more pairs for the remaining crew. Irene went into action, recruiting 50 family members and friends to knit. These ladies made the commitment to send 1000 pairs by the end of January, six weeks away, and they did it.

To quote Irene's friend Mary Snyder: "This silly pair of slippers isn't so silly when you're far away, homesick and some old lady sends you slippers."

There have been times when Irene didn't know where the next skein of yarn was coming from or how the next box was going to get mailed. Somehow, they always got sent. From the original three ladies, there are now 21 chapters around the country.