Volume
5, Issue 1,
April 25, 2003 |
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"I attended a particular set of meetings that I found eye opening and heartwarming I met with elementary school students to talk about Iraq. "Last week I had the powerful experience of visiting our dedicated soldiers who were wounded while fighting in Iraq at Landstuhl Medical Center in Germany. I was not alone in that visit students from across our district, places like El Dorado, Strong, Pine Bluff, Hot Springs, and Prescott, armed me with more than five hundred home made get-well cards to help me thank our men and women in uniform for their service and their sacrifice. I cant tell you how proud they were to have been part of freeing the Iraqi people, and how appreciative they were of the support from Arkansans. "They made me promise to go back home and thank our students for brightening their hospital stay and helping to lift their spirits. This week, I was able to visit with some of the students who made the cards, and they were full of questions about this war. The students wanted to know how the soldiers got hurt, if they were going to return to their families soon, if the soldiers were scared, and they wanted to know if our soldiers won the war. "I told them that our soldiers fought hard to protect America from Saddam Hussein and to free the Iraqi people, and that as long as we were proud of our soldiers for what they did, that yes, they did win the war for us and for the people of Iraq." Photo: Mike Ross shows a third grade student at Prescott Elementary just how far her get-well card traveled. |
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As I visited the injured American soldiers at Landstuhl Military Hospital in Germany, I was constantly reminded of the huge sacrifices our soldiers have made in liberating Iraq, as well as the many sacrifices that have been made by veterans who have fought in wars before them to protect our homeland and keep us free. The spirits of the injured U.S. soldiers were high and they were proud to have been a part of freeing the Iraqi people. They were especially pleased to receive the get-well cards that were made by elementary school students in our congressional district. I told the injured soldiers that this was just a small example of the support the American people have been giving them. I told them we were truly grateful for their service to our great country and for fighting this war in the name of freedom. Students at Lake Hamilton Elementary in Hot Springs, Coleman Elementary and Watson Chapel Elementary in Pine Bluff, Prescott Elementary, Southside Elementary in El Dorado, and Gardner Elementary in Strong made more than 500 get-well cards for the soldiers. Ross will visit the schools this week to personally thank the students for their thoughtful cards, and to tell them about his experience with the soldiers. Photo: Ross greets a wounded soldier during his visit to Landstuhl Medical Center in Germany, and cheers him up with a home made get-well card from a student in the Fourth District. Students at Lake Hamilton Elementary in Hot Springs, Coleman Elementary and Watson Chapel Elementary in Pine Bluff, Prescott Elementary, Southside Elementary in El Dorado, and Gardner Strong Elementary in Strong made more than 500 get-well cards for the soldiers. |
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Getting Down to their Level |
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1-800-223-2220 or mike.ross@mail.house.gov |
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