Sailor says thanks in person
to Manalapan schoolchildren
Youngsters in Kim Aidlen’s class at the Clark Mills School had a special visitor recently when Master Chief Dan Huffman stopped in to thank the pupils for writing to him while he was serving in Iraq. Joining Huffman are (l-r) Aidlen, Robert Oliwa, Bryanna Ostmann and Brian McCarron.
MANALAPAN — It could have come in a letter or a card, but one sailor made his thank you to local pupils a very personal matter.
While stationed in Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom, Master Chief Dan Huffman of the Naval Construction Battalion Center, Gulfport, Miss., received letters from first-grade pupils at the Clark Mills School, Gordons Corner Road.
In return, Huffman surprised the 19 children in Kim Aidlen’s class with a personal visit and thank you for the letters they sent to him.
Huffman’s nephew, Brian McCarron, is a pupil in the class.
"I came here today to personally thank you for the letters you wrote to me," Huffman said. "I shared them all with the men and women with me. It meant a lot to us."
The children sat in awe as Huffman stood in his uniform and talked about his career in the Navy. Then he fielded questions from the youngsters.
"Where did you go?" Jeremy Katz asked.
Huffman responded as he pointed to a globe, "I’ve been to Hawaii, Alaska, Korea. Actually, I’ve been around the world three times."
Brian McCarron asked his uncle how all the equipment gets to the soldiers and sailors, and Huffman told him, "Big ships bring us all our equipment like tanks, trucks, food and water."
Alexandra Sanchez asked, "How do you like your job?"
"I like my job so much, I’ve been doing it for 25 years," Huffman said.
He also told the pupils about what are called MREs, Meals Ready to Eat, which the sailors have while overseas. He told the youngsters he was going to mail them one so they could sample the cuisine.
Brian helped his uncle pass out patriotic pencils and Huffman taught the children how to salute.
Aidlen said the children were very exited to write their letters and even more excited to meet the master chief.
"It worked out that he was in the area and was able to come to my class to show his appreciation and tell the kids how excited the guys were when they received their letters," said Aidlen. "It made them feel good since they were away from their own families."
Principal Stephanie Kuhns told the students that Huffman was very happy to receive their letters.
"It was a really wonderful experience for the children, and I’m glad they were able to meet the person they had written their letters to," Kuhns said. "It was a nice experience for them."