Holiday
gift gives back to F-F third graders
U.S. military honors classroom with special U.S. flag
For Amy Mulyca’s third grade class, Monday,
Feb. 4 was an extraordinary day. In a special classroom
ceremony, the Fonda-Fultonville students accepted a very
special gift from the U.S. military—an American flag that
had flown aboard a reconnaissance aircraft in the Middle
East.
The flag, a certificate, and a poster of
photos from the Middle East were presented to the class by
Fonda native and Senior Airman Jacob Mundell who just
completed service in Saudi Arabia with the U.S. Air Force.
The gift came in response to a decision the
students made over two months ago. They chose to forego
their class’s traditional Christmas gift exchange and to use
the money to send care packages to servicemen overseas.
“The
children considered several options as an alternative to our
holiday grab bags,” explained Mrs. Mulyca. “We held a vote
and it was nearly unanimous to send care packages to our
soldiers.”
Rather than buying gifts for each other, the
students contributed money to purchase items that soldiers
most often request such as granola bars, candy, gum, and
hand sanitizer. The class packed up the supplies in three
boxes and shipped them overseas in time for the holidays.
The decision to send it to S.A. Mundell’s unit was easy; his
son is a student in Mrs. Mulyca’s class.
“The children took great pride that they did
this,” she added. “This is a great example of our ‘Pillar of
Caring,’ one of the positive character traits we work to
instill in our elementary students.”
Upon returning to Fonda, S.A. Mundell
delivered the military’s gift to thank the children for
their kindness. The certificate documents that the flag was
flown December 2007, aboard a U-2S high-altitude
reconnaissance aircraft. This symbol of American pride and
tradition flew to an altitude greater than 70,000 feet with
a U-2 pilot assigned to the 99th Expeditionary
Reconnaissance Squadron in support of Operation Iraqi &
Enduring Freedom.
