Posted on 03/11/2004 6:32:08 AM PST by NotJustAnotherPrettyFace
Specialist Robert Bacon knew what lay ahead of him and found it hard to keep his nerve.
Not because he might have to wrestle an unruly prisoner into Iraqatraz - the solitary confinement wing of the POW camp his unit oversaw.
And not because of hostility and weapons lurking around every corner.
After what the Military Police member had been through since January 2003, an unlikely thing wracked his nerves as he stood in the principal's office Wednesday morning - meeting second-grader Hallie McQueeny.
Bacon, of Bensenville, a member of the 822nd Military Police reserve unit, had kept McQueeny's letter and meticulous picture of Santa Claus tucked in the pocket of his fatigues since December.
"Dear Friend," she wrote on Nov. 21, "My name is Hallie McQueeny, and I am 7. My sisters names are Molly and Annie. Thank you for fighting in the war for us. Have a Merry Christmas. Love, Hallie. P.S. Do you miss your family? I would miss my family."
The simple words had touched Bacon, whom the letter reached by chance, and prompted him to write back, starting an e-mail correspondence between Mary Bencini's second-grade class at Western Avenue School in Geneva and the soldier.
Bencini said the students hadn't been able to think or talk about anything this week except meeting their pen pal. As the jittery 22-year-old emerged from the principal's office, his adoring friends swarmed around him, hoisting American flags and "Welcome Home" signs in the air.
In the classroom, the students gathered closely on a rug in front of a rocking chair as he used a laptop computer to show pictures of his training in New Jersey and tour of duty in Iraq and Kuwait.
But first, he showed them pictures of his dog, a German shepherd, and cats, Misty and Angel, eliciting oohs and aahs. He had asked the class to send him questions in advance, in part to relieve the anxiety. They responded with two pages, ranging from the serious, "Was every house bombed in Iraq?" to the not-so, "Do you have a pet?"
Bacon showed them pictures of his friends, pictures of their weapons, pictures of the Swiss Alps they flew over, the tents they slept in, the toilets they used and the Kuwaiti schoolchildren he ate with at McDonald's.
"The little kids are just like you guys, except they are over there," Bacon said. "You guys are the future of America, and those guys are the future of Iraq."
Before the end of their morning together, Bacon took out the letter that had traveled so far and come back to the classroom where it was written.
He held it up with a now-steady hand, then hugged and thanked a swooning Hallie.
"This made my Christmas," Bacon said. "There's no Christmas tree there, there's no snow. There's no Santa in the Middle East. Santa came to me in the form of a second-grader named Hallie."
Specialist Robert Bacon knew what lay ahead of him and found it hard to keep his nerve....
Bacon, of Bensenville, a member of the 822nd Military Police reserve unit, had kept McQueeny's letter and meticulous picture of Santa Claus tucked in the pocket of his fatigues since December.
"Dear Friend," she wrote on Nov. 21, "My name is Hallie McQueeny, and I am 7. My sisters names are Molly and Annie. Thank you for fighting in the war for us. Have a Merry Christmas. Love, Hallie. P.S. Do you miss your family? I would miss my family."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Thank you, Specialist Robert Bacon!
~ Teacher ~
We are winning ~ the bad guys are losing ~ trolls, terrorists, democrats and the mainstream media are sad ~ very sad!
Great story of our awesome troops. Thanks for posting it.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.