GREGG K. KAKESAKO / GKAKESAKO@STARBULLETIN.COM More than 250 Jarrett Middle School students wrote letters of support to Hawaii soldiers in the 100th Battalion on duty in Iraq. Some of the students who participated were Aiping Gan, sitting at left, Gabrielle Perry, and Sonya Aguirre. Standing are Chaz Pahia, left, Dung Nguyen, Brandon Toriki and Anna Takahashi.

Letters of Aloha

Jarrett Middle School students show their support
for isle soldiers in Iraq by putting it in writing

Adopt a platoon To adopt a platoon, call 228-5554 or send an e-mail to adopt-a-platoon@hawaii.rr.com. An information package will be sent back. Monetary contributions, which will be used to purchase items for the platoons, should be made out to "Adopt-A-Platoon" and mailed to Adopt-A-Platoon, c/o Go for Broke Association, P.O. Box 88234, Honolulu 96830-8234. Items that cannot be sent are alcohol, pornography, pork or products that contain pork, fresh fruits or vegetables, firearms or knives.

Jarrett Middle School students hope to make the combat tour of Hawaii Army National Guard's soldiers in Iraq a little easier with letters filled with aloha and support.

Some 250 students from the Palolo Valley school will join the nearly 180 island residents and businesses that have taken up the offer of the "Go for Broke Association" and adopted a platoon belonging to the 100th Battalion, 442nd Infantry, which is assigned to the Guard's 29th Brigade Combat Team.

Sharlene Acierto, family support group coordinator for the 100th Battalion, said all of the unit's 22 platoons have received several sponsors since the program began in April.

"Everything they get, they enjoy," said Acierto, "and they love sharing what they get with the kids there. They love letters even more."

Raymond Noh, president of Noh Foods of Hawaii, asked Julie Hane, the school's student activities coordinator, in early May if her students would like to write letters to Hawaii soldiers to be included in the care packages his company plans to send.

Under Hane's guidance, nearly every Jarrett student in grades six through eight last month voluntarily wrote letters of support to soldiers who have been in Balad since March.

Noh said he was moved by a Star-Bulletin article in late April when Alvin Au, president of the Go for Broke Association, announced that his group of 100th Battalion's veteran planned to work with the unit's current family readiness groups to establish the "adopt a platoon" program by finding sponsors who would be willing to send Hawaii soldiers care packages.

Au's hope was to get community organizations, businesses and individuals interested in adopting platoons of the 100th Battalion.

"We did something similar to this during the first Gulf War when we sent care packages to soldiers in Iraq," Noh said.

"I remember people telling later any letter from home is greatly appreciated," Noh said. "I was told that when one letter comes, sometimes everyone there gets to read it.

"Anything with a Hawaii address is greatly appreciated."

Noh also plans to send the soldiers the powdered instant Hawaiian ice tea his company manufactures.

Hane said that Noh already had a working relationship with the school, spending time with students during career-day assemblies. She asked teachers there if they wanted to participate and sent them copies of newspaper articles on the adopt-a-platoon program.

"The students wrote the letters on their own in class or on their own time, and some of the teachers even helped by incorporating what was going on there into their lesson plans," Hane said.

Allen Golden, seventh grade social studies teacher, said he helped develop a "framework by holding brainstorming sessions by listing on the blackboard reasons why we should support our troops."

Hane said she sent 300 letters from her students at Jarrett, and Noh plans to include nearly all of them.

"They are great little letters," Noh said.

Letters from
students to soldiers

Brandon Toriki, age 13: "One day, I hope to join the military and be there and fight for our freedom just like you and the rest of the Army. You should be very proud of yourself, you are defending us every day and I feel really safe knowing that you are fighting for us."

Sonya Aguirre, 13: "I just wanted to write this letter to thank you for all the hard work that you have done for our country to keep it safe. Everyone really appreciates it very much you have been working very hard to protect us. We are all praying for you. I don't know what it is like, but I could never see myself leaving my family, my friends and everything that I knew."

Gabrielle Perry, 11: "Here in Hawaii, we miss all our soldiers, because most of us have family or friends in the military. I have a cousin in the military. He has a wife and two babies and they are all great people. You have loved ones, don't you. I bet one of them is thinking about you right now. I hope you make a safe trip back home."

Anna Takahashi, 14: "Soldier I would like to thank you for being a hero in all our eyes here at the island of Oahu. We are all thankful for your bravery and courage to go out and fight for our country that we would all be safe, and to let you know you are doing are doing a great job there."

Dung Nguyen, 13: "Remember that whenever you are feeling down and depressed and are in question why you are working so hard, remember that is because you are fighting for a better tomorrow and for all the other families out there who are looking at this nation as their escape way from a place dark and dangerous."