Porter delivers kids’ letters to soldiers

Benjamin Grove

Wednesday, April 9, 2003 | 10:55 a.m.

WASHINGTON -- Rep. Jon Porter, R-Nev., today handed letters written by Nevada elementary school children to soldiers recovering from war injuries at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington.

The soldiers' eyes lit up when Porter gave them the letters, Porter said. The letters were filled with messages like, "I just wanted to thank you for protecting our country."

"Now they know there's a fifth grader at Treem Elementary in Southern Nevada that cares about them and is thinking about them," Porter said.

Porter and several other House members visited six soldiers at Reed today and they plan to visit Bethesda Naval Medical Center on Thursday. Reporters were not allowed to accompany them. About 28 soldiers and sailors are recovering at the two hospitals, Porter said.

Porter last month asked teachers in his district to have their students write letters to soldiers. The lawmaker delivered about 250 student letters from nine elementary schools in Las Vegas, Henderson and Boulder City to the Defense Department. But the letters have not yet been delivered because of ongoing combat. Porter decided to hand-deliver another 60 letters to recovering soldiers at the two hospitals.

In one letter a fifth grader from Treem Elementary in Henderson wrote: "I know how hard is to be in war because I see you on the news everyday. I know your struggling there because of the sand storms. Your struggling too because you lost some of your soldier friends. I know you miss your family and want to go home now, but you want to save our country too, tough choice. I hope you come back safe, HEROES, help people there in Iraq, and bring us back the peace of the world. I support you, I love you, and you're my HEROES."

Treem teacher Pat Skinner's fifth graders had decided to write letters to the troops even before Porter asked for them, Skinner said. Skinner and his students often discuss the war and relate it to their lessons about other wars, he said.

"They have an understanding that the issues are not that black and white, and they draw that from each other," Skinner said. "I just sort of sit back and let them talk."

Porter said he was struck by the compassion students have for soldiers they had never met.

Porter said the soldiers he visited today had injuries to their arms and legs. They talked of being thankful for new protective vests in use by the troops.

They seemed in good spirits, Porter said, but a few said they felt guilty to be back home while friends were still in combat.