Photo By Staff Sgt. Russell Klika | U.S. Army Maj. Mike Brady of the Camp Atterbury Public Affairs Office reads a book to...... read more read more
by Amy May, Staff Reporter
Camp Atterbury Public Affairs
The kids at East Side Elementary School listened wide-eyed as the Soldier dressed in camouflage read them a story about the firefighters on Sept. 11, 2001.
For many elementary school students, the attacks are not an event they lived through and remember, but part of a history lesson.
Soldiers from Camp Atterbury participated in "Read with a Hero" day on Sept. 11 to commemorate the day and help the students understand the importance of that day.
The school is a few miles from the camp and Soldiers often participate in events there.
In addition to the 14 Soldiers, police officers, firefighters, military veterans, community leaders and volunteers visited the school to read a short story to the children. Each classroom had a reader and the books, which were sorted into age-appropriate subjects, were on topics such as patriotism, justice, tolerance or actual events that unfolded the day of the attacks.
Read with a Hero was a way to recognize the anniversary of the attacks and make something good come from it, said Rebecca Morrison, the school's literacy coach and organizer of the event.
"Rather than focus on the events of 9/11 we focused on the hero aspect. I wanted kids to understand that heroes are not just people who make a touchdown, play sports or are actors, but to realize they have heroes all around them," Morrison said.
Col. Barry Richmond, commander of Camp Atterbury, said it is important that children understand what happened on the day of the attacks.
"We have to share our legacy and the importance of today. Not only what that day meant, but what it has meant for the world since that day. So many events have changed the fabric of society — our fears and our concerns. Everything was magnified by that day six years ago."
Tim Barger, emergency medical services director at Camp Atterbury, read a story to fifth-graders about Father Mychal Judge, the New York Fire Department chaplain who comforted injured firefighters at the Twin Towers before dying himself when the towers collapsed.
Barger also read a short essay about the dogs who participated in the search and rescue effort, telling the kids that many of those dogs trained at Camp Atterbury's Mari Hulman George Search & Rescue Academy.
"It was fun. They had a lot of questions. One little girl had no idea about the attacks. The others remember watching the news that day. I hope I did them justice," he said.
Some of the Soldiers fielded some funny questions. Master Sgt. Scott Hardesty was asked if he wore a tutu, leading to some ribbing from his comrades. Another Soldier in his 50s was asked if he fought in World War II. The kids wanted to know how they get the food and planes to Iraq and if the Soldiers had ever flown the Stealth bomber.
Maj. Mike Brady's students took time to tell him about their own family members who were serving in the military.
First Sgt. Dave Portish read a book about the American flag. He thought he'd have to explain patriotism and the importance of the flag, but was happy to see that all the kids already knew those things.
"I did a survey and asked how many of them had a flag flying outside their house. They all raised their hands," he said.
"It's great to see kids wide-eyed, to capture their attention and make a difference."
Portish said his group of students wasn't born when the attacks happened, yet they seemed to know about it.
"It just shows how thought processes get passed generation to generation. The past is not something that just happens, it's being passed on."
All the guests scoffed at the idea that they are heroes and instead just enjoyed the time relating to the kids and answering their questions.
"That's part of it, too. Heroes seldom see themselves as heroes," Morrison said.
| Date Taken: | 09.11.2007 |
| Date Posted: | 09.13.2007 07:15 |
| Story ID: | 12318 |
| Location: | US |
| Web Views: | 524 |
| Downloads: | 429 |
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