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Hope in an envelope
By LOGAN NEILL The colorful drawing depicts what its creator believes a true defender of freedom should look like. The soldier, dressed in camouflage fatigues, stands straight and tall beneath a billowing American flag. From his crooked smile comes the words, "God Bless America!" Beneath the picture, a greeting of hope and comfort is neatly scribed in pencil: "Dear Soldier, I really want to thank you for what you are doing. I know that you must feel very nervouse (sic) for fighting another country. You are very far from home. Back here in America, everyone is praying for you." Those thoughts from 8-year-old Meghan Rance pretty much typify the feelings of every pupil in Cheryl McCabe's third grade class at Chocachatti Elementary School. Though they are much too young to understand the objectives behind the effort to dislodge Saddam Hussein's regime, they are nonetheless aware of the dangers and uncertainties American military personnel in the region will face in coming weeks. Their hope is that in some small way their efforts will make someone feel a little better. "I think you are brave because you have left practically your whole life to fight for us," wrote Julia Poholek, adding, "Back here in America, the Tampa Bay Bucs won the Super Bowl against the Raiders." McCabe said the idea for the class letter-writing campaign came after hearing a radio interviewer ask troops in Kuwait what they looked forward to the most. "The biggest thing they said they missed was getting mail," said McCabe. "So, I thought it would be something the kids would love to do, and it would give them a sense of being connected to the people who've been sent to do a tough job." In her instruction to her pupils, McCabe encouraged them to consider what the soldiers must be feeling as they prepared for combat a half a world away from their loved ones, and to thank them for their efforts during the conflict. Beyond that, McCabe told her students to simply write from their hearts. "I know you are fighting and I feel really sorry that you have to fight," wrote James Keelin. "I've been trying to help you somehow." "I know you are fighting Iraq," said Nathaniel Morgan in a letter that was illustrated by a drawing of soldiers firing weapons at each other. "We have lots of freedom because of you." McCabe said that up until this week the conflict in Iraq had rarely been discussed in class. Many of her students, she said, simply hadn't taken much notice of it, or so she thought. Said McCabe, "When you look at (the letters), the first thing you notice is how distant and removed 8-year-olds are from the realities of war. Most of what they know about comes by way of their parents. They're very supportive for the most part." But at least one pupil acknowledged that the conflict has had its share of opposition as well. "Back here in America, everybody hopes we are going to win the war, but when it comes to war they all have strong feelings about it," wrote Jacqueline DeAngelis, who also drew a picture of two children with tears of joy running down their cheeks. Perhaps most interesting was the eagerness the students had in sharing a few details about themselves. Some told their readers about their upcoming vacation plans. Others spoke of soccer camp and Little League and their favorite video games. If all goes well, the letters, which will be sent in separate envelopes, should get to military personnel in the region within the next week or so. McCabe is instructing mail handlers in the military to distribute them to whomever they wish. "I hope that whoever gets one will appreciate that these kids look to them as heroes," said McCabe. "Maybe they'll arrive on a day when someone could use some cheering up."
 © 2006 • All Rights Reserved • St. Petersburg Times
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