thedrifter
10-30-07, 01:26 PM
Officer visit to class pays surprise
Army major personally thanks Katy Feller, 9, for moving letter he received in Iraq.
By Karen Robes, Staff writer
Article Launched: 10/29/2007 09:15:36 PM PDT
LONG BEACH - At first, Maj. Rick Skeen was in no mood to read the letter.
The San Pedro resident was blue. A medical condition had landed him in the hospital in Iraq five months after he deployed to help support soldiers at Al Asad Air Base.
The nurse who handed him the letter insisted. It might make you feel better, she told him.
As he read the note written by 9-year-old Long Beach resident Katy Feller, Skeen was touched by her questions and her offer to pray for his fellow soldiers - so much so that he wanted to thank her in person.
On Monday, Skeen surprised the Los Altos Brethren Elementary School student with a visit to her fourth-grade class.
An overwhelmed Feller sat at her desk, speechless, as the uniformed man held up her letter - a four-page note that has traveled thousands of miles and back in the last five months.
"I wanted to come give you my personal thanks for all the thoughts, prayers and letters that you have sent to all the soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines serving in Iraq and Afghanistan," Skeen told the class. "I know that they truly appreciate it as much as I do."
Last May, the 125 or so students at the small K-6 Christian school wrote letters and drew pictures for soldiers overseas, said Principal Kathy Shaw.
Shaw then handed over the letters to Capt. Kelly Clevenger, a Los Altos Brethren alum.
Clevenger, a flight nurse, flew to Iraq and delivered some letters to the base hospital where Skeen received the letter in June.
Skeen, who is married with two daughters - the youngest a first-grader, said the letters have been a great help to him and his comrades.
"A lot of soldiers have families and when they receive letters from children that are the same age as their children, it's really special to them," he said. "They're in a pretty tough environment and they all have really hard jobs and when something as simple as a letter from a child back in the states really brightens their day. It reminds them what it is they are trying to accomplish - to try to keep children free and protect our country."
Personal answer
Skeen told the class he will read from his notes so that he would not get emotional.
He told them about his life, about feeling better after reading Feller's letter. He enjoyed hearing about her dog, Cody, and her favorite story, "The Last of the Really Great Wangdoodles."
Then he answered the questions in her letter: Is it exciting? Does he like the military?
One question seemed to catch in his throat: Is the military hard?
"I guess the hardest thing about being in the military is being away from my family for long periods of time," said Skeen, who expects to be deployed in another five months. "Even though the separation from our loved ones is for a good cause in serving our country, you never really get used to it."
After answering students' questions, Feller took Skeen on a tour of her school.
"He's really nice," Feller said shyly.
Her father, Bob Feller, said at the time Katy wrote the letter, her friend's father was serving his second tour of duty in Iraq. The family was praying for his safe return.
"She wrote it from her heart," he said. "In some ways, it came home for us to know that someone we knew had been to Iraq and has been back safely. I think they might have been on her mind, too."
After meeting with the rest of the students in the church auditorium, Skeen gave Fuller a hug and posed for pictures.
"This was a very heart-warming experience for me to know that people care that much," he said after the visit. "It was really touching."
Ellie
Army major personally thanks Katy Feller, 9, for moving letter he received in Iraq.
By Karen Robes, Staff writer
Article Launched: 10/29/2007 09:15:36 PM PDT
LONG BEACH - At first, Maj. Rick Skeen was in no mood to read the letter.
The San Pedro resident was blue. A medical condition had landed him in the hospital in Iraq five months after he deployed to help support soldiers at Al Asad Air Base.
The nurse who handed him the letter insisted. It might make you feel better, she told him.
As he read the note written by 9-year-old Long Beach resident Katy Feller, Skeen was touched by her questions and her offer to pray for his fellow soldiers - so much so that he wanted to thank her in person.
On Monday, Skeen surprised the Los Altos Brethren Elementary School student with a visit to her fourth-grade class.
An overwhelmed Feller sat at her desk, speechless, as the uniformed man held up her letter - a four-page note that has traveled thousands of miles and back in the last five months.
"I wanted to come give you my personal thanks for all the thoughts, prayers and letters that you have sent to all the soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines serving in Iraq and Afghanistan," Skeen told the class. "I know that they truly appreciate it as much as I do."
Last May, the 125 or so students at the small K-6 Christian school wrote letters and drew pictures for soldiers overseas, said Principal Kathy Shaw.
Shaw then handed over the letters to Capt. Kelly Clevenger, a Los Altos Brethren alum.
Clevenger, a flight nurse, flew to Iraq and delivered some letters to the base hospital where Skeen received the letter in June.
Skeen, who is married with two daughters - the youngest a first-grader, said the letters have been a great help to him and his comrades.
"A lot of soldiers have families and when they receive letters from children that are the same age as their children, it's really special to them," he said. "They're in a pretty tough environment and they all have really hard jobs and when something as simple as a letter from a child back in the states really brightens their day. It reminds them what it is they are trying to accomplish - to try to keep children free and protect our country."
Personal answer
Skeen told the class he will read from his notes so that he would not get emotional.
He told them about his life, about feeling better after reading Feller's letter. He enjoyed hearing about her dog, Cody, and her favorite story, "The Last of the Really Great Wangdoodles."
Then he answered the questions in her letter: Is it exciting? Does he like the military?
One question seemed to catch in his throat: Is the military hard?
"I guess the hardest thing about being in the military is being away from my family for long periods of time," said Skeen, who expects to be deployed in another five months. "Even though the separation from our loved ones is for a good cause in serving our country, you never really get used to it."
After answering students' questions, Feller took Skeen on a tour of her school.
"He's really nice," Feller said shyly.
Her father, Bob Feller, said at the time Katy wrote the letter, her friend's father was serving his second tour of duty in Iraq. The family was praying for his safe return.
"She wrote it from her heart," he said. "In some ways, it came home for us to know that someone we knew had been to Iraq and has been back safely. I think they might have been on her mind, too."
After meeting with the rest of the students in the church auditorium, Skeen gave Fuller a hug and posed for pictures.
"This was a very heart-warming experience for me to know that people care that much," he said after the visit. "It was really touching."
Ellie