A soldier from Virginia, children from North Canaan, a civics lesson with heart

NORTH CANAAN — When Spc. Kyle Harris of Virginia was deployed to Afghanistan with the Army National Guard last January, he expected to be defending his country against terrorism. Little did he know he would also become part of the curriculum for a classroom of second-graders in Connecticut.

On Dec. 18, Harris was afforded celebrity status during a visit to North Canaan Elementary School that included a full school assembly, a host of local veterans and dignitaries and the presentation of a “key to the town.� The latter has been given out only seven times.

Upon receiving the ceremonial key, the uniformed Harris bounded to a gymnasium door and pretended to fit it into a keyhole. Pushing the door open, he proclaimed, “It works!�

That sense of humor and exuberance is likely what saw him through nearly a year in Afghanistan, and what endeared him to the North Canaan children who became his e-mail pals, and to whom he became a hero.

Last spring, Ashley DeMazza’s class spearheaded a drive to collect 500 items to send to overseas troops. They did their homework, researching what the soldiers wanted and needed, and what was OK to ship.

At a June Flag Day ceremony, they announced the schoolwide response to the collection drive had put them far above their goal.

DeMazza wanted to add a more personal dimension to the effort. She found a Web site that sent e-mail messages out randomly to soldiers. The children sent letters and pictures. Harris responded, telling them about how much he missed his family, that he had a pet fish and that his favorite snack is chocolate-covered pretzels.

The children are now in third grade. At the ceremony last week, they read aloud a series of essays they wrote last year. They described how they came to call their correspondent “Soldier Kyle,� because Specialist Harris was just too much of a mouthful. He didn’t mind.

Much of the time in Afghanistan, Harris worked in an office at a computer, and Fridays were the days he and his new North Canaan friends chatted by e-mail. It was something the students looked forward to immensely. Soldier Kyle, they said, had become a “close, close friend.�

Every once in a while, the students had what they described as “tiny problems,� referring to classroom behavior. All Mrs. DeMazza would have to say is, “What would Soldier Kyle say?�

When they suggested she didn’t have to tell him, she said she couldn’t lie to the military.

He told them to listen to their teachers and work hard every day.

When Harris went out on patrol, usually for weeks at a time, the students said they were very, very worried, until they got an e-mail saying he was safe.

One day, the students wrote to invite Soldier Kyle to visit. At the same time, he wrote to ask if he could visit. After what seemed like a very long wait, the big day came.

Harris was led into the gymnasium by a Cub Scout color guard and a group of local veterans, most in uniform. The entire school was waiting.

The veterans who escorted him in included Isadore Tadiello, a Navy veteran who served in World War II and was at Pearl Harbor during the attack; Claudio Veronesi, Marine Corp, and Stanley Ralph, Army, both of whom served in Vietnam; Fred Bushnell, who served with the Air Force in Afghanistan; Joseph Segalla, who was a commander in the Coast Guard in the Gulf War; and Leslie Wertz, who served in Afghanistan with the Army National Guard.

Colby Jacquier read his essay from Flag Day, in which he spoke of Soldier Kyle checking in with the students every Friday, and making sure they were on their best behavior.

“When I think of great citizenship, I think of our friend, Soldier Kyle,� he wrote.

The class presented him with a good citizenship award. PTO President Nikki Blass gave Harris some North Canaan Elementary School apparel, including a T-shirt that garnered a big cheer when Harris held it up as if to model it. Region One School District Superintendent Patricia Chamberlain presented him with an honorary North Canaan Elementary School diploma.

When Harris finally came to the podium, he acknowledged all that the school had done for the troops.

“It’s a pleasure to be here and to meet all of you. Thank you for making me feel so at home,� he said.

He proceeded to make two presentations of his own, to DeMazza and Principal Rosemary Keilty.

This past Sept. 11, Harris was at Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan where, for six hours each, two flags were flown “in the face of the enemy� as part of Operation Enduring Freedom. He presented the flags to the two women.

There were tears.

The flag presentation was followed by the singing of “Light the Candles� by the entire school.

There were more tears.

Harris was overwhelmed with emotion, as hundreds of children sang for him and his fellow soldiers.

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