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Like father, like son

Veterans Stan and Jonathan Lapidow visit classes, seniors to highlight Veterans Day

By Eileen Oldfield Staff Writer
   When Army National Guard Maj. Jonathan Lapidow of the 1-150th Assault Helicopter Battalion visited Woods Road Elementary School teacher Melanie Cruz’s third-graders to talk about his experiences flying Black Hawk helicopters in Iraq, some of the students wanted to know one thing.
   ”Did you get to keep the helicopter?” said one student.
   ”I wish,” Maj. Lapidow said.
   Clad in his camouflage uniform, Maj. Lapidow, 36, of William and Mary Common, visited the class as part of a Veterans Day activity. According to Ms. Cruz, her student teacher, Mindi Graham, invited Maj. Lapidow to the class, as a tie-in to social studies lessons on holidays.
   ”The third-graders just finished a social studies unit on holidays,” said Ms. Cruz. “Veterans Day is one of the holidays that we study and we thought what a great way to celebrate Veterans Day and tie it into the curriculum.”
   During the presentation, Maj. Lapidow spoke about his yearlong helicopter training, his experiences during his 2004—2005 tour, and the cities he flew to in Iraq.
   While the kids weren’t sure where Baghdad and Tikrit were, Maj. Lapidow’s photos of the cities, his base, the celebrities who visited the base (including a photo of singer Jessica Simpson which was disputed by one of the students), the country from a helicopter-eye view, and the Army National Guard’s flight over the New York Giants and Green Bay Packers football game did impress them.
   ”Oh my gosh, that’s how high you flew? That’s scary,” said one student of a photo taken from the helicopter.
   Maj. Lapidow, who is on active duty with the Army National Guard and may return to Iraq next year, also showed the students videos from his tour.
   The students asked Maj. Lapidow questions over the course of his visit, including questions on the quality of Army food, the length of soldiers’ hair, flying helicopters, and the hardest part of being a soldier.
   ”Believe it or not, the worst thing was being away from friends and family,” said Maj. Lapidow. “I couldn’t see my mom or my dad or my friends.”