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thedrifter
03-09-07, 08:37 AM
Welcome fit for a Marine
Pen pal visits classroom upon return from Iraq
BY JUDY O'ROURKE, Staff Writer
LA Daily News
Article Last Updated:03/08/2007 07:18:43 PM PST

SANTA CLARITA - The students in Judith Hayward's fifth-grade class had never met the Marine who visited them Thursday after returning from Iraq, but now he's like a friend.

Master Sgt. Mark Coates was the class's pen pal for months as the kids flooded him with letters and care packages. Coates reciprocated with a video.

"When he sent the video, I felt we knew him," student Himani Sharma said. "We were excited to see him in person!"

Coates stopped by Valencia Valley Elementary School to thank his new buddies face to face and get better acquainted. The students politely probed the Marine's feelings after he briefed them on his perilous stint in the hot spots - Fallujah, Haditha, Ramadi - and showed off military paraphernalia.

"Was it scary to be in Iraq?" Alicia Spadaro asked. It sure was, he told her quietly, especially the uncertainty about what would happen next.

"I know there are bad things about the war. What are the good things?" Himani asked.

A pensive Coates spoke of restoring normalcy to empty, bomb-laden schools, ousting a dictatorship and fostering an atmosphere that allows for public protests. Among other things, his unit supported an air command and protected a key runway.

"You hear so many people complain about the war in general. Nobody likes to have a war or be in it," Coates said later. "But what the kids are doing is supporting the people who are in it. As long as they give the support to the people who are willing to sacrifice themselves, that's all that's important."

As students passed around the leaden bulletproof plates that girded Coates' flak jacket, Amanda Sladek said, "I can't imagine them holding that every day."

Since October, the students had been sending missives and would hear back via a weekly update newsletter, which consisted of an e-mail routed from Coates' mom to friends and family.

His mom, Cathy Chamberlain, was the glue holding the soldier and class together. Ages ago, she had lost touch with her grade-school pal - Hayward - but a chance search on Classmates.com reunited the pair, and the project soon followed.

Hayward, a teacher for 43 years, has taught in the Newhall School District for 19 years. Never before has the school welcomed a visitor fresh from war.

"I'm thrilled my class had a chance to participate in this activity to write to him and meet him," Hayward said. "Starting in fifth grade, children kind of wake up. They start to see there's more to the world than just what surrounds their little area."

The students crooned the Marine Corps Hymn as they marched to greet Coates and escort him to their classroom. He had shared their letters with his mom, who beamed from the back of the room.

"I'm so proud Judi encouraged her class to adopt him," Chamberlain said later. She traveled from Torrance for the occasion, and Coates, who returned home in February, arrived from his Marine Corps Miramar station post. He lives with his wife and two of their kids in a small town outside Temecula.

Coates, 43, was deployed to Iraq in 2003, 2004 and 2006.

He drew laughs midway through the otherwise serious visit when his cell phone ring tone blared AC/DC's "Thunderstruck."

Coates brought the kids souvenir pins, and some handed him gifts. Logan Vandergrift fashioned paper clips into a star.

"It's part of the American flag," the boy said. "It seems like it would symbolize America."

The visit made history come alive for the students, Principal Tammi Rainville said. "It's not just hearing the perspective of parents or what they see on the news," she said. "It's getting the experience firsthand, whatever your beliefs are."

After nearly 26 years of military service, Coates is ready for retirement but won't stray far if he gets his wish. He hopes to work with Marines at Camp Pendleton.

judy.orourke@dailynews.com

(661) 257-5255

Ellie

thedrifter
03-09-07, 08:44 AM
Marine Corps Veteran Meets Biggest Fans

By Jesse Muņoz
Signal Staff Writer
Friday March 9, 2007

U.S. Marine Corps Master Sgt. Mark Alexander Coates received a hero's greeting at Valencia Valley Elementary school on Thursday, as students waved flags and sang the Marine hymn in welcoming him home from Iraq.

As a 26-year veteran of the Corps and member of the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force, Coates served tours in Iraq in 2003, 2004 and 2006 before returning home in February with plans to retire.

But it was during his most recent tour that Coates was adopted by Valencia Valley teacher Judi Hayward's fifth-grade class, which proceeded to send the Marine a collection of care packages, letters, Christmas presents and Valentine cards over the course of the last year.

"I just brought in a box and asked the kids 'who wants to bring something for him,' and 'what do you think he would like,'" Hayward said about how the long-distance relationship first started. "They brought sunflower seeds, and cookies and nuts, and Chapstick and candy and international calling cards. ... It was just so much I could hardly even mail it all."

No doubt thankful for the time and effort students spent to provide him and his fellow Marines with such thoughtful gifts, Coates promised to visit the students after returning stateside.

"You are the first class I have ever received letters from, that's why I wanted to come up here and personally thank you," said Coates, 43, who is currently stationed outside San Diego. "I thank you all very much for your care packages and your letters. ... I got your Valentine's Day cards, they were awesome. I got to read every one of them, and I loved them."

After being met in the parking lot and escorted into the school by two class representatives - who carried Coates' flak jacket and equipment bag - students were cued to perform the first two lines of the Marine Corps hymn, before returning to the classroom for a pre-lunch chat.

"So everyone wants to know about Iraq, right?" Coates asked the group of wide-eyed and excited students. "Has everyone been out in the desert before? Well it's like the desert out there, with a lot of sand."

"And it's hot," Coates said in describing the temperatures that can soar past the 130-degree mark. "I can tell you that 132 degrees doesn't feel much different than 100 (degrees)."

Coates went on to show off some of his battle gear and passed around a 1-inch-thick armor plate which was worn under his flak jacket.

"This is just part of my gear I had to wear out there," Coates explained. "On average it's about 70 pounds on my back."

Students were then given the chance to pepper Coates with questions ranging from if he "liked any Greek mythology" to "what inspired you to become a Marine" and "what are some of the good things about the war?"

"I wanted to continue on with my schooling, because that's very important, but I also wanted to get on with my career, too," answered Coates to the "why you joined the Marines" question posed by fifth-grader Christopher Marton. "So I decided to join the military. The Marine Corps, I just thought the uniforms looked the best."

In discussing some of the positive aspects of the war, Coates talked about some of the newfound freedom the Iraqi people now enjoy and the work he and his fellow Marines did to build schools in the areas where they were stationed.

"You see a lot of bad about everything that is going on, but there's also a lot of good," Coates said.

Because Hayward's class had been so generous with him, Coates returned the favor by presenting students with a number of gifts - a certificate of appreciation to the entire class for their prolonged support, a U.S. Marine Corps emblem pin, and bumper stickers emblazoned with the Marine Corps motto "Semper Fi."

"I have no greater pride than for this great country and my beloved Corps," said Coates in explaining the significance of the pin.

"Ask your Mom before you put this on the car," he said about the stickers.

Coates then joined students in the cafeteria - where he was seated as the guest of honor for a lunch of pizza, fruit and milk.

"It swells you up to know that there's so much support back here," said Coates about the caring response he received from students. "You can't help but want to come and see them. It's the greatest feeling in the world."

"It was the heartfelt parts," said Coates in sharing the words of one letter he received which wished him a safe return from Iraq. "Encouragement like that, to come from a 10-year-old, is just beyond belief. To read statements like that, these kids are just so inspirational, and it just makes us want to work that much harder."

As Coates sat down to enjoy both his lunch and the company of his new friends, students took time to reflect on the day's events.

"I think it's really amazing that we get to know someone that worked so hard in the war and really cares about keeping us safe," 11-year-old Lauren Yi said.

"I was just excited that he's home and safe and didn't get hurt," said Rachel Boatwright, 10. "It was really cool."

In addition to the joy of meeting his class of supporters, Coates was also pleased with the quality of his lunch.

"Compared to a (military-issued Meals Ready to Eat), anything is better," he said.

Ellie