Posted on 04/18/2003 11:05:01 AM PDT by FryingPan101
Slain soldier's daughter offered a bit of solace
Stephani Mata's pain is a private affair despite the spotlight shined on the heroic death of her father, Army Chief Warrant Officer Johnny Villareal Mata, last month in Iraq.
The 7-year-old's mother, Nancili, asked Nixon Elementary not to disrupt Stephani's classroom routine. The school respected her wish and that of other military parents. Half of Nixon's students come from military families.
"Their parents want them to come to school and not have to deal with it," Principal Ginny Hunt said.
Thursday, the young girl's tragedy was acknowledged in one simple, loving gesture: She was given a stuffed bear to hug.
Hanks High School students collected and delivered stuffed animals to 200 Nixon students whose parents were deployed. Stephani, with her mother's blessing, received the biggest bear.
A Hanks student told Stephani, "I know this can't bring your father back but maybe it can give you comfort," Hunt recalled.
With tears in her eyes, the little girl hugged the toy and smiled. Stephani's mother cried while comforting her daughter.
Villareal Mata, 35, was one of nine Fort Bliss soldiers killed March 23 in the ambush of the 507th Maintenance Company. He was buried on Sunday in his native town of Pecos.
Johnny Villareal Mata's sister, Rosa Mata, said it is difficult to decide how best to handle the aftermath of the death for Mata's children, Stephani, and Eric, 17.
"We all do what we can," she said.
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