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thedrifter
12-19-05, 02:04 PM
'Step on daddy's shoes, let him lead you"
Story details by LCpl Ray Lewis

There is nothing that can transform a fierce warrior into a soft-hearted smiling daddy faster than one small girl. And that transformation happened several hunded times recently at the Mary Fay Pendleton Elementary School 2nd Annual Father-Daughter Dance. Marines donned their dress blues and escorted their daughters into the gymnasium for a night of dancing and relationship-building. And, for some Marines who will leave soon for deployment - and months away from their families - this was a chance to leave their daughters with memories of a very special night.
"Who would wear their 'dress blues' if they didn't have to?" asked Lori DeMille, a second grade teacher at the school. "Be hot and stuffy for two hours; they have to love their kids to go through that. It takes a special dad."

The dance was a chance for fathers to spend time with their daughters between deployments. It was a night of eating, dancing and bonding. And for those whose daddies were currently deployed, there were stand ins so that they would not have to miss the dance.

"It might be small to some, but things like this are big for the hearts of the girls," said Gunnery Sgt. Samuel Reed, father of Mary Fay elementary students Michaela and Krystal Reed. "It brings unity and builds synergy. Synergy is the relationship."

"I think it's awesome," DeMille said. "With the increase of deployments, we saw the need to do more functions like these with our kids."

Principal Lynn Gilstrap also thinks the dance is an amazing experience for the children and fathers.

"A lot of these dads are deploying within the next couple of months," Gilstrap said. "One dad just got home yesterday and another is deploying tomorrow. (He) deploys in the morning, but he said, 'I couldn't miss this night with my little girl,'" DeMille said.

Most dads wanted to do all they could to make sure their daughter was as comfortable as possible.

"To help his daughter dance I heard one dad say, 'step on daddy's shoes, let him lead you,'" DeMille said.

Ellie