Use this search box to find articles that have run in our newspapers over the last several years.
EAST LONGMEADOW The marine who befriended an entire fourth grade class through letters and photographs from Iraq has finally made good on his promise to someday visit his pen pals. The now retired Corporal Chase Martin, 21, drove the long road from his home in Arlington, Va. to Mountain View Elementary School yesterday to have pizza and share stories with 27 students whose letters and cards kept his spirits high through his tours of duty and later, through a long hospitalization. "I said to the kids that I would come up and see them one day, so I decided to come up here to pay it forward and make good on what I said," Martin explained, standing tall in full dress uniform among his wide-eyed admirers. Although they had never met face to face, Martin and the students had much catching up to do. Many asked how his arm was healing, to which Martin responded by removing his heavily-decorated jacket and showing students the recovering injury that forced him into retiring from combat. A blast of shrapnel from the sixth and final bombing Martin survived when serving as a machine gunner in Fallujah, Iraq, had torn his lower arm apart. While he recovered, enduring 29 reconstructive surgeries, the students sent get-well cards and well wishes to Martin's hospital room. "I think they've learned that the little thoughtful things you do mean so much to people, the little kindnesses that you do," teacher Nancy Morrow said, about the two-year friendships she began with a simple holiday card project. "It got them thinking about other people and what they're going through." After giving him a hero's welcome, complete with banners, cheese pizza and Juicy Juice, the pupils indulged their innocent curiosities by peppering Martin with questions. "Did you get to sleep or did you stay up thinking about the war?" asked Juliette Lajoi. "You're so tired that you just doze off without even remembering falling asleep," Martin responded with a smile. "How long were you fighting each day?" another student asked. "I don't know, it just kind of happens," he replied. Martin also brought photos of his "family" overseas, fellow marines from his outfit, who returned to Iraq in February. His twin brother, also an active Marine, will be retiring later this month. With patience, he explained the significance of each bright ribbon and medal earned during his three-year military career, including two purple hearts. "We learned that he has a lot of courage to fight and that it was really hard and tough for him there," student Kristen Flanagan said about writing to Martin. Before leaving, Martin expressed his gratitude to the class whose letters had brightened many hard days for him. "It means everything, you can feel really alone out there," he said about having pen pals. "Some guys got nothing, especially ones without family who were basically orphans. So a lot of times we got our girlfriends and wives to send them care packages." Now starting a new chapter in his young life, Martin has applied to Georgetown University to study behavioral health. Day to day though, Martin is enjoying life at a slower pace, coaching little league baseball, traveling and "just enjoying each day as it comes." "I think they get to put a face to the letters and it helps just to give them a little light on what we do and who we are," Martin explained about the benefits of his visit. "We're not just the faces you see on the news, we're regular people who used to be just like them." | ||||||
