Seventy-one years after the 1941 surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, the Command Center for the Pacific fleet, two classes at Midland School learned a little bit about the meaning of sacrifice firsthand from U.S. Army Sgt. John Evans. Evans’ appearance was part of Midland’s Character Education Initiative.

 

By Sarah Varney

 

Seventy-one years after the 1941 surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, the Command Center for the Pacific fleet, two classes at Midland School learned a little bit about the meaning of sacrifice firsthand from U.S. Army Sgt. John Evans. Evans’ appearance was part of Midland’s Character Education Initiative.

 

Evans, who left the Army just over a year ago, served one 15-month tour in frontline combat in DiAllah, Iraq, and a second tour providing personal security for a brigade commander in Baghdad. “I still miss the camaraderie of the unit, but I have family and a good support system so coming home was pretty smooth,” said Evans. The goal for both tours was keeping peace, he added.

 

Asked for his personal opinion of what may happen in Iraq after the rest of the U.S. force leaves, Evans said, “I’m not too certain of how it’s going to work, but I do know that the Iraqis were really happy to have us there. They couldn’t show it, but we knew,” he said. Evans said he thinks it likely that some U.S. troops will be based in Iraq for many years.

 

For Stephanie Lauro’s fourth-grade class and Melissa Pelletieri’s kindergarten class, the idea of making a sacrifice for one’s country came down to the nitty-gritty. “Did you get mail? You didn’t get to see your mom? You couldn’t have dinner with your family?” were a few of the questions Evans fielded.

 

“Giving up those simple but important things, that kind of sacrifice and gratitude really hits home with them,” said Pelletieri, a seven-year kindergarten teaching “veteran.”

 

The kids asked questions of Evans and then settled in with their kindergarten buddies to write letters to soldiers currently serving in Iraq. The idea was to write letters expressing their gratitude for the sacrifice the soldiers make. While the kids weren’t quite sure to whom they were writing specifically, they were still touchingly enthusiastic. In teams of fourth graders and their kindergarten buddies, most of the older kids took charge of the actual writing duties while the buddies worked on decorating envelopes and even the letters themselves with bright stickers and little drawings in the margins.

 

This was the third school appearance for Evans, who previously appeared before students at his alma mater, Port Chester High School. Since returning home, Evans has worked for Chase Bank in Greenwich as a personal banking representative.

 

Sgt. Evans stays in close contact with his former unit in Iraq. The day after his appearance at Midland, he flew to Seattle to welcome his comrades home.