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thedrifter
12-23-06, 03:38 PM
Christmas gift

By JILL ZAREND-KUBATKO, Valley Life Editor December 23, 2006

For the past three weeks, Terrie Kenney has "hit" local businesses and found the outpouring of generosity from Casa Grande residents to be "unbelievable."

Friday night in a ballroom of the Francisco Grande Hotel and Golf Resort beneath a 10-foot luminous Christmas tree, Kenney asked Lance Corp. Bart Miller how he made the decision to join the Marines. The young man with the prototypical shorn-Marine buzzcut, decked out in his olive green dress uniform, explained to the woman his curiosity as a child about the service, about joining JROTC and his love for his high school sweetheart. How he wanted to make a difference and provide for his family.

With the charade over and the interview stopped, a surprised Miller was treated to a room full of 15 friends and family members watching him as Kenney started handing him presents. "Open it now?" he asked the group.

For the next half hour he unwrapped package after package and opened cards and letters from strangers in his hometown, as well as people around the country.

Kenney had been collecting items to give to Miller, who returned this week from his base in Twentynine Palms, Calif., for the holidays. His family was here to rally around him, but there is one person missing.

His bride of a less than a year was killed in a car accident on her way back to Casa Grande from visiting him in California this past September. Victoria Miller had just found out she was carrying their child.

Miller graduated from Casa Grande Union High School in 2005, married and joined the Marines within a year. He was an honor student and the only cadet to receive standing ovations during his four years in the JROTC leadership classes.

The gracious and smiling Miller took the attention directed at him with humor and in stride. He received a pillow, sheets, a comforter, a blanket to keep him warm "out in the field," a travel kit, soaps, toothpaste, deodorant and a box of Chips Ahoy, to name a few of the gifts.

"My pre-deployment shopping is done," he joked.

APS employees took up a collection and contributed $340, which he tucked neatly under his uniform jacket.

Michelle Garrison, a teacher in Eloy, had her eighth-grade students bring in gifts for Miller after hearing about him from Kenney.

"They wanted to do something for you," she said to Miller, who sat in a chair next to her. "One girl named Rita saved her money to buy you a rosary and took it to church to have her priest bless it," Kenney told him.

Gift certificates poured in for car washes, dinners, drug store items, McDonald's, a few gift cards from Wal-Mart and baskets filled with useful items and treats for him to enjoy.

Kenney, a Realtor with John Hall & Associates in Tempe who moved to Casa Grande from the Valley a little over six months ago, had a Christmas party for neighborhood kids who helped her with various tasks.

"I began to think of ideas to do at the Christmas party and came up with the idea to have all the kids write a thank you note to a soldier," she said.

The next day, she began seeking a soldier to no avail. A day or so later, she decided to try the local recruiting office to see if they might be able to direct her to a soldier.

"I was standing in front of the Army, the Marines and the Air Force Recruiting offices with no idea of which door to enter. I wasn't sure why but I selected the Marines but now I know. I was specifically looking for a soldier without a family or a spouse," she recalled.

"The recruiting officer didn't know anyone, so he gave me his commander's business card to contact. She didn't leave but instead persisted and waited.

"He had enrolled plenty of young people into the service, so surely he had to know someone in need. That's when all of a sudden, he remembered Bart and told me the basics of Bart's story. I knew immediately this was the one I was divinely guided to help," Kenney said.

Chef Ed Turner at Legends, a former Marine himself, wanted to make sure the family was treated to a nice evening and volunteered the facility to have the surprise Christmas party.

"I was on the phone with Terrie in my office and had just had my medals framed and was looking at them," Turner said. "I had tears in my eyes thinking about this kid and what it means to be a Marine."

The restaurant staff also fed his family following the presentation of gifts. Turner asked Miller if it was true his favorite meal was filet mignon and lobster. Miller told the fellow-Marine "roger." Turner said he was happy to have the opportunity to cook for a Marine.

"I have almost two pages of items pitched in from people in the town," Kenney said. "It's amazing how the community is rallying together for this young man."

Besides personally visiting neighbors and businesses in Casa Grande, Kenney sent out mass e-mails telling his story. One donor from Texas best expressed the sentiment of those giving: "Terrie, Thank you for devoting the time for what you have done, a little effort goes a long way. We are fortunate to have men like Bart to represent our country, giving freedom to places in the world that need it more than we do. Please tell him that I am forever grateful for the time he has served to provide us the safety we know. God Bless, Steve Ray."

Miller himself has a history of helping those in need. Kenney spoke with one of the Millers' neighbors and discovered he was always helping the underprivileged at his school, the former classmate said. "He is the most kind-hearted young man," she said.

The generous young man recently donated his entire paycheck to a neighbor who had lost his job and has a family to care for. "It came from his heart," Kenney said when told by Bart's mother, Maria, of his gesture. "God will reward him 10-fold," she added.

The neighbor read a letter he composed for the occasion stating he had never met a boy like Bart.

"He has such a warm and caring hart. He always takes time to stop and talk to this old man," he read. "He came over one day and told me, 'I have an early Christmas present for you.' He knew we had nothing. Even though he has a broken heart he tries to help others. I could go on and on. I pray to God to take care of him and bring him home safe," the 54-year old neighbor said. "I am proud to say he is my friend."

His mother, Maria G. Tellez, read Bible verses and told her son, "We were brought together by Victoria's spirit. You were disappointed in God because he took her away. But he brought Terrie into our lives to make sure you had a wonderful Christmas. I love you."

Tellez had never met Kenney before a few days ago. Tellez said she was overwhelmed and is very proud of her son. She knows he has suffered through the loss of his young wife. "He was disappointed. He didn't believe their was a reason to live after she died. But this has brought us back together," she said.

"When you talk spiritually, the Lord can work in mysterious ways. It had to be a godsend that this happened," she said.

Kenney responded with "God chose you for this might, it is a way of showing his love for you. He brought us all together. Victoria's spirit is here, I can see her smiling and there is no doubt this is what she wanted for you."

Miller's 10-year-old niece asked her fellow students at Saguaro Elementary to sign a poster for her uncle. "He is my hero, when I grow up. I want to be a Marine," Miryah Soliz said.

Before the group disbanded, they held hands in a circle and sang "How Great is Our God," by Chris Tomlin.

"This is something I wasn't expecting," Bart said after the party. "At the initial part of the interview, I thought it was a joke."

Miller will go back to his base on Jan. 7 and begin build-up training until July, when he will be shipped to Iraq. "I'm excited and nervous," he said. "Not scared."

At least now he knows new people and his family are behind him.

"It is utterly amazing how the community has come together. This is the truest meaning of Christmas," Kenney said.

©Casa Grande Valley Newspapers Inc. 2006

Ellie