Army officer meets his pen pals in person

Lt. Col. Norman Fabian visits students at Bishop Larkin Catholic School after several months of correspondence.

By MICHELE MILLER, Times Staff Writer
Published October 3, 2007

Lt. Col. Norman Fabian chats with fifth-graders Kate Comfort, left, Mia Perez and Sierra Olive during a special welcome home event for Fabian in the school's library
	[Stephen J. Coddington | Times]

ADVERTISEMENT [Stephen J. Coddington | Times] Fabian sorts through "Welcome Home" letters from Bishop Larkin students during his visit. [Stephen J. Coddington | Times] Bishop Larkin 5th-grader Kameron Altman gets an up close and personal look at the many medals and decorations pinned to the uniform of Lt. Col. Norman Fabian. "They're pretty cool," Altman said. "I liked the Bronze Star (that he received) for all his heroism."

PORT RICHEY - When the FedEx package arrived from the States, Army Lt. Col. Norman Fabian figured he'd be getting beef jerky because that's the kind of thing folks send to Iraq these days.

To his pleasant surprise, the box was filled with the kind of stuff that helps drive away the homesickness.

"I opened it, and there were all these letters pouring out," Fabian said with a grin. "And I said, 'I'm going to have writer's cramp before leaving here.'"

Somehow, in between his duties training Iraqi troops ("I was one of eight Americans with 8,000 Iraqis"), Fabian, 44, managed to find the time to answer each and every one, always making sure to tuck in a small gift and to sign off with a simple "Your soldier."

Elizabeth Morgan, 10, who wrote to him about how she sometimes takes care of her younger sister, got a 1stsergeant patch that came with this explanation from Fabian: "He is the soldier in charge of taking care of all the other soldiers."

Sierra Olive, 10, wrote about her love of God and her horses and was honored with a patch for the 11th Armored Cavalry Division, which depicts a beautiful black steed.

Others received Iraqi money or perhaps an autographed picture.

Over the course of about five or six months, the fourth-grade students at Bishop Larkin Catholic School corresponded with Fabian and others in his unit, sending special care packages on Halloween, Christmas and for his birthday on Feb. 6.

Last week, Fabian got to meet his pen pals, now fifth-graders, in person.

In the school media center, Fabian opened a window into another world where the temperatures sometimes reach 137 degrees, dogs roam the streets, Iraqi soldiers wear tennis shoes because there are no army boots for them, and sometimes you have to save the life of a 14-year-old boy because he has been shot in the leg.

"It's a different culture that most Americans don't understand," said Fabian. "I was there a year and a half, and I don't understand it."

But when he finally got back to the states in June, making the road trip with his mom from his home in Warren, Mich., to New Port Richey to see the children was high on his priority list.

It was his mom, Joyce Fabian, who got the letter-writing ball rolling in October 2006. That's when she saw the notice about Operation Shoebox at Queen of Peace Catholic Church while she was visiting her parents, Marvin and Gladys Sherman, in New Port Richey. She called Jennifer Aitken, who coordinates the effort at the church and at Bishop Larkin, where she serves as a parent volunteer.

"I told her, 'I guarantee if they write to him, he'll write back,'" she said.

And he did.

[Last modified October 2, 2007, 21:33:17]