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November 13, 2009

Soldiers make school stops

Mark Millican

A North Whitfield Middle School student said she was “overwhelmed” by the level of commitment shown by two of the “Wounded Warriors” in town this week.

“That kind of sacrifice just blew me away — their hopes, their families, their lives,” said Julia O’Rourke.

“We’re thankful to you guys,” said Austin Cole, one of the Boy Scouts who helped post the colors for the visit to the school by the soldiers, who are members of Dalton’s Charlie Troop, currently stationed in Afghanistan. “Would you change anything about what’s happened to you?”

Both soldiers said no, then Cole asked, “Are you winning (the war)?”

“We are winning the war,” replied Cpl. Nate Watson, “despite what you see on the news.”

Spc. Andy Sullens related he was lying on the ground helpless with a broken pelvis and broken leg after being “shot out of a cannon like a cannonball” when his Humvee was hit by an improvised explosive device (IED) in Afghanistan in May.

“I was looking up into the sky and noticing how beautiful the clouds were,” he told the eighth-graders at North Whitfield Middle School on Friday. “But I knew my brothers (fellow soldiers) would come and get me, and they came and got me.”

Sullens was one of four soldiers in Charlie Troop — Dalton’s Georgia Army National Guard unit — who were deployed to the southwest Asia hot spot to train Afghan police and instead were wounded in action. That training never happened, Watson told the youngsters. The “Wounded Warriors” tour culminates with their appearance at the Veterans Day Parade this morning.

“We were running up to six combat missions a week,” Watson said while wearing a clean uniform but with combat boots still spattered with blood from his arm wound in August.

Sullens said his unit knew they were going to get hit with enemy fire, but the night before there were “no gripes, complaining or crying — even though we knew there was a possibility we wouldn’t come back with every member (alive) that we left with.”

Watson and Sullens schooled their young charges in three separate class periods, questioning them about the origins of Veterans Day and seeing how many had veterans in their families.

Courtney Pendergrass said the duo “touched my heart.”

“My brother is in EOD (explosive ordinance disposal) in the Army and he has had many close calls,” she said. “I know exactly how their families feel. It took tremendous courage for them to talk about their experiences.”

Guyton Pitman felt the call when Sullens and Watson spoke.

“I think I’m going to go to war when I get older and I’m going to help them out, like they helped us because they were fighting for our country,” he said.

The middle schoolers wanted to change their Veterans Day observance from Wednesday to Friday to accommodate the soldiers, said teacher Shell Underwood, who is also a veteran with the 1/48th Brigade, the parent unit of Charlie Troop.

“They’ve done a power point, put together a display with gear and photos of their families who are veterans, and are collecting gifts and cards to send (to deployed troops),” she noted. “They’re hoping some of them will write back.”

Spc. Anthony Landowski appeared with Sgt. 1st Class Jeff Boyles at City Park School on Friday.

“We opened it up to (questions and answers) and I was amazed how much they knew about (the) 9/11 (attack) and how it led to our involvement in Afghanistan,” Landowski said.

Landowski, a medic who has been recovering from the IED blast at Walter Reed Army Hospital in Washington, D.C., joined the other Guardsmen on Thursday.

“I’ve been walking without crutches since the first of the month,” he said of his wounds, which include two broken legs, a shattered heel and broken arm. “It bothers me a little bit during the day, and especially the first thing in the morning.”

Sullens’ wife, Jill, said she was “glad for the support of the community.”

“It’s amazing,” she said. “I’m glad they’ve had the opportunity to tell their stories.”

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