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Maj. Barry Wright, a chaplain, visited the school on Wednesday for
several reasons, but mostly he wanted to return something to the
school and meet the students who had been so nice to him while he
was stationed in a country far away.
Brianna and Payton Lanning attend WLB. Chaplain Wright is Brianna
and Payton Lanning's uncle -- their mother, Dawn, is his sister.
After their uncle deployed to Iraq with his Indiana National Guard
unit, the brother and sister suggested the school send packages for
the soldiers, and staying in touch began to grow into a bigger idea.
In September the staff and students had a group picture taken. They
sent the chaplain a copy of the picture and a flag from the school,
asking him to fly the flag over Iraq.
Wright was with the 219th Battlefield Surveillance Brigade. It was
an intelligence and information-gathering unit.
"There were 25 teams in 43 locations, and we traveled extensively,"
Wright said. But he found time to fly the flag sent from WLB. It
was on the flagpole Oct. 11, flying over the Brigade Headquarters at
Contingency Operating Base Adder, Ur, Iraq.
Ur is an ancient Babylonian city near the modern-day city of
Nasiriya, which we hear or read about in the news. It is in the
southern part of Iraq.
Wright's National Guard unit was stationed at COB Adder for six
months. They returned Nov. 10.
"It was a long six months and we were glad to be home," he said,
"but your packages made a difference to the soldiers who were there.
I was responsible for receiving and distributing items to the
soldiers. I saw how glad they were to receive things and how it made
them feel good about what they were doing.
"What you did was a ministry," the chaplain continued. "It was
precious and sweet the way you showed your gratitude for their
service to this country."
Wright's family was present for the program -- his wife, Tamara; son
Ethan; and his younger daughter, Abigail. The family currently lives
in Sherman, close to his parents' home in Riverton. An older
daughter is staying in Indiana.
"If something happened, you know," Wright said, "I wanted my wife
and kids to be close to our family. We'll be moving back to Indiana
now. I will be a quality control officer for Pilkington's, an auto
glass manufacturer."
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Wright's brother-in-law, Gordon Lanning, a teacher at Lincoln
Junior High School, was also present for the program.
WLB student Trey Schilling opened the program by leading students
and guests in the Pledge of Allegiance. The school choir sang the
national anthem. After WLB Superintendent Climer introduced Wright,
a representative from the student council presented the chaplain
with cards and handwritten messages as tokens of appreciation and
thank-yous for his service and for his visit to the school.
In turn, the chaplain gave the school superintendent the flag that
flew over Iraq and a homemade certificate that states the day and
location where the flag flew over Iraq.
"This is a certificate I made to personalize the flag and gives it
some recognition," Wright said.
"We're going to put the flag and certificate in a place of honor so
we can view it and visitors will see it is special to our students
and to our district," Climer explained. "The items will be hung on
the wall near the junior high wing of the building with other
important documents and acknowledgements. Also there is the original
school group picture taken in September."
[By MARLA BLAIR] |
