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| EES students meet their adopted soldier By CHERYL TSCHUDIN, Sentinel News Editor |
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"Welcome Capt. Jade,"
seen displayed across the lunch room bulletin board at Eisenhower
Elementary School, saluted Capt. Jade Hinman, a special guest visiting
from Fort Riley on a recent afternoon. Adopted by students at EES this year, Hinman and his unit have been the recipients of letters, pictures, cards and videos throughout the year as the men have been serving their country in war-torn Iraq. Hinman took a day out of his 14-day leave to |
"I appreciate the time and enthusiasm these kids have given and I feel like it is my responsibility to respond to them," he said, adding with a smile, "The least I could do is come down and disrupt their afternoon a bit."
Hinman ate lunch with the kids and then visited them in separate age-level groups in the school library throughout the afternoon.
A tank company commander with the 3rd brigade, first armor division from Fort Riley, also known as the "Cobras," Hinman supervises 14 tanks and 86 soldiers at Sauder City, Iraq. A 10-year veteran of the army, he was first deployed to Iraq in 2003, and a second time in June 2004. He showed students slides of his unit and the area in which they were stationed, as well as conveying the conditions in which they lived and job they were doing.
Hinman noted that his men are appreciative of the cards, pictures and news that the kids have sent.
"We sort of live in a bubble and don't really know what is going on back home. It is always interesting to see how people are perceiving what we are doing and what news is getting back to the common folks. People back home don't always hear about what is really going on from the press," he said. "I had thought I had seen a lot of things, but every day (in Iraq) I see something I couldn't possibly have imagined."
Among one of the many questions asked by students, one inquiring as to the significance of the wristband Hinman wore, brought a sobering moment. The bracelet, he said, is worn in memory of a good friend, who was killed in battle.
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McPherson
Unified School District 418
514 N. Main
McPherson, KS 67460
620-241-9400
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