Lessons from Iraq for a fifth-grade class
By: Emily Craighead
In his olive pants and green shirt, Sgt. Vince Vella may look like the soldiers in a fifth-grade textbook, but his experiences in Iraq don’t match the lessons Eileen Beam and Joanne Glover’s fifth-grade students are learning about World War II.
There are no front lines, and there is no visible distinction between an enemy and an ally.
"The only way you know they’re there is all of a sudden when they pop up," said Sgt. Vella, describing how to identify insurgents in Iraq. Sgt. Vella spoke Thursday to Eileen Beam and Joanne Glover’s fifth-grade students at Village School in West Windsor.
In September, Ms. Beam’s students began writing letters to Sgt. Vella, who has been stationed with the Army National Guard near Ramadi since June. Longtime friends of the Vella family, who are West Windsor residents, Ms. Beam and Ms. Glover took the opportunity to let Sgt. Vella’s family know how much they appreciate his sacrifice, and to teach their students about the conflict in Iraq.
The students sent letters asking about his favorite sports teams, his favorite classes when he was a student at West Windsor-Plainsboro High School South, and how he spends his days in Iraq. They also sent him care packages with snacks at Halloween and cards for Valentine’s Day.
A bulletin board in Ms. Beam’s room with the banner, "Land of the Free, Home of the Brave," displays pictures and Iraqi currency Sgt. Vella sent them from Iraq.
Sgt. Vella took time out from a two-week trip home to visit Ms. Glover and Ms. Beam’s classes.
He answered questions about his job in Iraq and about the Iraqis from the students, who wore red, white and blue.
"When we’re on a mission the time goes by real fast," Sgt. Vella said. Between missions, time drags, and pickup baseball games or mock wooden sword fights help the time pass an image that elicited a few giggles among the students.
Sgt. Vella also said he tries to sleep as much as he can, because you never know what demands the next day may place on you.
"One week, you might go out every single day, and another week you might not go out at all," he said. "Usually when you’re out there, you’re two excited to sleep."
As a scout, Sgt. Vella’s job is to "go out there and find where the bad guys are.
"It’s scary," he admitted. "Everything over there’s scary."
A small reward used to be handing out candy, Beanie Babies and soccer balls to Iraqi children, who eagerly took the gifts.
"When we first got there and the kids would come out, we’d fill up our pockets with candy for them," Sgt. Vella said. However, as their parents grew more suspicious of the American soldiers and fearful of retaliation against those who interacted with the Americans, the children began to stay away.
"That’s a bad sign, because when the kids were around, nothing would happen," he said. Many soldiers still have stores of candy and Beanie Babies their families sent from the United States for the Iraqi children, but no one will take them now, he said.
All in all, Iraqi children "are just like you guys," Sgt. Vella told Ms. Beam and Ms. Glover’s students.
In the fall, Sgt. Vella said he hopes to return to the United States and finish his last semester of college at Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania.