Fremont Elementary honors and is honored by veterans

Fremont Elementary students, faculty and staff found the tables unexpectedly turned on them recently.

Members of the Marine Corps League Auxiliary, Cpl. Robert M. Sawaya Unit #447, were invited to Fremont for a Veterans Day celebration on Nov. 10, to honor them for their service to their country and to other Marines. Unknown to the school, these veterans planned to thank them as well for the 1,400 letters students have written over the past two years to Marines still serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"Being so far away from their family and friends, it's a touch of home," said Dianne Warner-Kearney, Marine Corps League Auxiliary Department of Utah President.

For some of the young, single men overseas, the letters from Fremont students might be the only mail they ever get, and it's a huge morale-booster to them all, she said.

The League Auxiliary is a nonprofit service organization that supports Marines and their families, and has been the liaison between Fremont and the Marines who receive the students' letters.

At the celebration, students sang "The Star Spangled Banner" and "Happy Birthday" for the Marines--this year is the 236th birthday of the U.S. Marine Corps--and Maj. LeMar Breshears and Warner-Kearney spoke with them about how much their letters are appreciated. Even though the Marines who get them haven't been able to respond to any of the letters, each one has been read and passed around and treasured by entire units. The two also talked about the importance of education, and how lucky the students at Fremont are to have a safe school they can go to every day.

Then they pulled out the surprise.

Principal Paul McCarty was called on to the stage and presented with funds to help cover the cost of the next year's worth of letters, including the huge amount of paper they go through.

"We thought that they needed to be recognized for their incredible effort," Warner-Kearney said.

And it has been quite an effort. The project started as part of the school's participation in Stephen Covey's "Leader in Me" program, the elementary version of "The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People." Service and proactivity are highly emphasized in the program, so the students and teachers came up with the idea together to write letters to soldiers.

"The kids are very aware of current events," McCarty said.

Current events studies are part of the school's curriculum, but many students also have parents, siblings and other family in the military overseas. It was not a huge logical leap for them to realize that some of their letters could reach their own loved ones, McCarty said.

Fremont's teachers take time in class for students to write their letters, and the letters have been incorporated into the school's creative writing instruction. Most importantly, the students know they are helping others with their letters, and they enjoy it.

"They don't have to be asked; they want to [write the letters]," McCarty said.