Army Ranger, Marc A. Anderson -
a former math teacher at a FL public school.
Wednesday, March 6, 2002
By MARY KELLI BRIDGES, mkbridges@naplesnews.com and KARIE PARTINGTON, kjpartington@naplesnews.com
Students in Cathy Kane's Fort Myers Middle School social studies class watched on television Tuesday as the flag-draped coffins of seven soldiers were carried off a plane in Germany.
They knew that the body of Army Ranger Spc. Marc A. Anderson — a former teacher at the school — was among them. The 30-year-old Anderson was one of seven American soldiers killed in Afghanistan on Monday when two U.S. helicopters came under attack.
"This has touched these students," Kane said. "This was a man who walked these halls. This is something that's going to affect these kids. He was a hero."
Anderson, of Brandon, and Sgt. Bradley S. Crose, 22, of Orange Park, were the first two Florida soldiers to die during duty since the fight against terrorism began Oct. 7. The total number of casualties hit 28 Monday.
As the U.S. military tries to determine what happened during the offensive mission code-named Operation Anaconda, Anderson's family and friends attempt to come to grips with his death and the fact that he won't return to teaching later this year as he had planned.
Anderson taught for three years at Fort Myers Middle before he left in 1998, his friends said, in part, to get out from under student loans.
He had been a Ranger for 3 1/2 years and was scheduled to be discharged in October.
In the mid-1990s, when Anderson attended Florida State University, the state was offering tuition forgiveness after three years for certain fields of special needs for teachers, said Anderson's friend, David Childress, who used to teach with him at Fort Myers Middle.
Math was one of those subjects and something at which Anderson excelled. But by the time he graduated, math was no longer considered a special need and Anderson was left with large student loans, Childress said.
He stuck with teaching for three years, in the hopes that math would again be considered a special need. Finally he decided to switch careers, at least temporarily, to help with the loans.
Growing up in a military family, with his father, David, a former Ranger, the decision wasn't difficult. Anderson joined the Army in mid-1998, his friends said.
"He looked at his options and the one he chose was to join the military and serve his country," Childress said.
Then Sept. 11 came and the military Anderson signed up with became one with a newfound mission.
A couple of weeks before Christmas, Anderson stopped in Fort Myers to visit with Childress, now a science teacher at Three Oaks Middle, and other friends. They got together for lunch at Hops Restaurant to catch up on old times.
"He said there were several areas al-Qaida was in around the world," Childress said.
Soon after that restaurant reunion, Anderson was sent overseas.
In early January, Childress received an e-mail. Anderson was out of the country. He couldn't and wouldn't say where. By this week, Anderson was in Afghanistan
"I was hopeful that's not where he went," Childress said.
On Monday night, Childress received a call from David Anderson with the news his son was one of the casualties in the attacks on the U.S. helicopters.
The word spread fast.
As she watched the CNN coverage at Ramstein Air Base, Kane found herself focused on the first casket, the one that to her appeared to be a little heavier than the others, the one accompanied by a Catholic priest. She was certain it contained the body of her large-framed, jovial friend.
"I just knew that was Marc. He was a big guy, and his family is Catholic. It had to be him. It was a terrible thing to see," Kane said.
Kane met Anderson when he joined Fort Myers Middle in 1995. The more seasoned Kane helped Anderson grow comfortable with his new profession, and Anderson tutored Kane's son, Benjamin Hefty, in math. When the tutoring sessions ran late from time to time, Anderson stayed for dinner. He was particularly fond of her homemade ham-and-pineapple pizza.
Kane said Anderson had a passion for teaching.
"He was positive, he was energetic, he went to kids' swim meets, he accompanied students to Washington, D.C. The kids loved him. He was what education needed," Kane said.
Anderson was also proud of his alma mater, Florida State University. A practical joker, Anderson more than once removed all of the University of Florida vanity plates in the teacher parking lot and replaced them with ones touting the FSU Seminoles.
"He's been gone from this school for three years, but people still talk about him. That's the kind of guy he was," Kane said.
It was Anderson's drive that made him stand out. Childress said it was common for Anderson to be one of the first in the school building to tutor children on his own time before classes, and he was never afraid to take on a couple of children in a friendly game of paint ball.
"He and I were of the same mindset; it's more important that the kids know you as a person, not just a teacher," Childress said.
Anderson's former roommate, Jason Scott, a social studies teacher at Riverdale High School, said Anderson's devotion to others was obvious.
"He never did not go out of his way for anyone or a student," Scott said.
Scott said Anderson's parents moved to Jacksonville from Ohio a few years ago. He also had one brother in the Tampa-St. Petersburg area and another brother in the Marines.
The Lee County School District is providing an additional guidance counselor this week to Fort Myers High for students who need to grieve, said John Dattola, director of business and community alliance.
In addition to Anderson and Crose, the five others killed Monday were Sgt. Philip Svitak, 31, of Joplin, Mo.; Pfc. Matthew A. Commons, 21, of Boulder City, Nev.; Navy Aviation Boatswain's Mate-Handling Petty Officer 1st Class Neil Roberts, 32, of Woodland, Calif.; Air Force Tech. Sgt. John Chapman, 36, of Waco, Texas; and Senior Airman Jason Cunningham, 26, of Camarillo, Calif.
Crose and Anderson were Army Rangers stationed at Hunter Army Air Field in Savannah, Ga.
Amy Pritchett of Jacksonville, who dated Anderson for about a year, said he was proud to fight for his country and that the United States needs to continue its war on terrorism.
"I think Marc would say, 'Let's finish this,' " said Pritchett, 30. "We need to finish it. He didn't die for nothing."
Staff writer Dave Brietenstein and the Associated Press contributed to this story.