thedrifter
05-15-09, 07:25 AM
Marine salute for Platt students' generosity
By Noelle Frampton
STAFF WRITER
MILFORD -- As a communications officer in the U.S. Marine Corps, 1st Lt. Craig Schnappinger's job is to ensure fellow Marines are taken care of.
So, when he saw that a group of local high school students was taking care of 900 Marines in Iraq's Al Anbar Province during the academic year, he was touched.
Schnappinger, a 27-year-old Fairfield University graduate, came to Platt Technical High School on Thursday to present the school's National Honor Society with a token of gratitude for the group's donation of toiletries, snacks and other items to the troops: a photo of the 40 members of his unit, Combat Logistics Battalion 5, signed by each soldier.
"I'm here to say thanks on behalf of them," he told a group of students in the school's library. "It was about knowing that each of you cared about each of us. [That support] keeps us going back to those places, gladly. It's a very hard life. It's not very fancy. We don't ask for much, but the one thing we do ask is that each of you back here remember us ... It means the world to us."
"It was so exciting to know that they sent thanks," said senior Rebecca Konwerski, 17, of Woodbridge. "I didn't expect anything."
Konwerski, the National Honor Society president at Platt, was one of four students -- the others were Jeannie Jalbert, of Milford, and Melissa Mazo, of West Haven, -- who spearheaded the collections for the Marines and were singled out for thanks by Schnappinger, who awarded them special
"unit coins."
Together, the 20 members in the honor society ran schoolwide commercials for the collections starting in September, taking in soap, shampoo, snacks, candy, razors and other items for the Marines. They shipped the donations in eight big boxes in December and January.
They also raised money to buy more goods for the Marines, collecting about $300 in loose change and small bills from students, with a boost from Platt's Parent-Faculty Organization.
The drive was the society's second-largest community service project this school year, after its Toys for Tots drive, Konwerski said.
"I gotta say, the kids drove the bus -- they came through," said Tom Viola, the honor society co-adviser.
The idea for the project came from Schnappinger's aunt, Barbara Mazzona, director of school counseling and admissions at Platt, after her beloved nephew was deployed abroad last August.
"I'm just relieved that he's home," Mazzona said after the awards presentation.
Schappinger, formerly of Mystic, said his eight-month term in Iraq, where many locals have never experienced the amenities common in the U.S., made him "appreciate all the more what we have here." 1st
Ellie
By Noelle Frampton
STAFF WRITER
MILFORD -- As a communications officer in the U.S. Marine Corps, 1st Lt. Craig Schnappinger's job is to ensure fellow Marines are taken care of.
So, when he saw that a group of local high school students was taking care of 900 Marines in Iraq's Al Anbar Province during the academic year, he was touched.
Schnappinger, a 27-year-old Fairfield University graduate, came to Platt Technical High School on Thursday to present the school's National Honor Society with a token of gratitude for the group's donation of toiletries, snacks and other items to the troops: a photo of the 40 members of his unit, Combat Logistics Battalion 5, signed by each soldier.
"I'm here to say thanks on behalf of them," he told a group of students in the school's library. "It was about knowing that each of you cared about each of us. [That support] keeps us going back to those places, gladly. It's a very hard life. It's not very fancy. We don't ask for much, but the one thing we do ask is that each of you back here remember us ... It means the world to us."
"It was so exciting to know that they sent thanks," said senior Rebecca Konwerski, 17, of Woodbridge. "I didn't expect anything."
Konwerski, the National Honor Society president at Platt, was one of four students -- the others were Jeannie Jalbert, of Milford, and Melissa Mazo, of West Haven, -- who spearheaded the collections for the Marines and were singled out for thanks by Schnappinger, who awarded them special
"unit coins."
Together, the 20 members in the honor society ran schoolwide commercials for the collections starting in September, taking in soap, shampoo, snacks, candy, razors and other items for the Marines. They shipped the donations in eight big boxes in December and January.
They also raised money to buy more goods for the Marines, collecting about $300 in loose change and small bills from students, with a boost from Platt's Parent-Faculty Organization.
The drive was the society's second-largest community service project this school year, after its Toys for Tots drive, Konwerski said.
"I gotta say, the kids drove the bus -- they came through," said Tom Viola, the honor society co-adviser.
The idea for the project came from Schnappinger's aunt, Barbara Mazzona, director of school counseling and admissions at Platt, after her beloved nephew was deployed abroad last August.
"I'm just relieved that he's home," Mazzona said after the awards presentation.
Schappinger, formerly of Mystic, said his eight-month term in Iraq, where many locals have never experienced the amenities common in the U.S., made him "appreciate all the more what we have here." 1st
Ellie