More Ammo to Shut Boob Woodward Up

H/T to Bookworm Room blog. Here's an article from Marin(CA) Independent Journal about a soldier returning on leave from Iraq, making a presentation to a middle school class about Iraq.

Marin soldier tells stories from Iraq's frontline
Joe Wolfcale

As gray rain clouds swirled above, 101st Airborne Lt. Ronan Kennedy stood tall in a courtyard of Kent Middle School wearing blue jeans, a light blue polo shirt and tan boots.

Seventh-grade teacher Teri Alton could not contain herself.

Teary-eyed and with a huge smile on her face, Alton - who teaches world history - bolted from her classroom and gave Kennedy a hug and welcome home.


LIFE IN IRAQ: Ronan Kennedy, who is home on leave after serving in Iraq, talks with seventh- and eighth-graders at Kent Middle School who have been sending letters and care packages to Kennedy and his fellow troops in Iraq. (IJ photo/Jeff Vendsel)

"I feel like I know him although I've never really met him," Alton said. "It's really great to see him home here."

Kennedy, who attended Bacich Elementary, Kent Middle and Redwood High schools before graduating in 1999, is home on leave for a couple of weeks. He decided to visit the students of Alton and eighth-grade teacher Ryan Palmer, who formed pen pal relationships with the soldiers in Kennedy's unit last school year.

Kennedy, 25, just finished a deployment in Bayji, Iraq, supervising 44 soldiers in a maintenance group that repairs broken Humvees, armored vehicles and other armaments. He will set out for another one-year deployment next year.

More than 30 students dropped by the classroom Thursday during lunch hour to hear Kennedy talk about his experiences in Iraq. He brought along a video montage that brought the war home to the wide-eyed students.

"War is always sad," Kennedy said, responding to a question from one student. "I've seen people get killed; my best friend was killed.

"It's hot over there," he said. "We have to wear all this gear. It's very hot traveling in a Humvee. Sometimes, we'd only get four to five hours sleep. It's what we call living on the edge."

Soldiers' lives were brightened by the packages Kent students mailed to Kennedy, who, in turn, would dispense candy, CDs and other items to colleagues.

"Some of our guys didn't get any mail," Kennedy said. "One got divorce papers. So it was really amazing to keep getting these great packages. I can't say enough how much that meant to us."

During his slide show, Kennedy showed photographs of military helicopters in action, some of the soldiers who participated as pen pals, and an area where his unit discovered three land mines. He also included a group photo of his unit.

Alton estimated the school mailed more than 30 packages to Kennedy's unit. The Kentfield School District paid the postage to ship the packages abroad.

Kennedy will spend his remaining time home getting caught up on his sleep and eating favorite foods, including pizza, that he missed while in Iraq. On Oct. 16, he'll return to Fort Campbell in Clarksville, Tenn., and begin training for his next mission. He is signed up until April 2008.

Kennedy said he suffers some hearing loss from gunfire and loud explosions, gets claustrophobic around crowds and has become more observant.

"I'm so glad he's safe, but I'm saddened by the fact that his life has changed," Alton said. "Our students were so eager to meet him today."

God bless Lt. Kennedy and other brave patriots who are keeping us safe from islamic tyranny.