West End Students Meet 'Adopted' Soldiers in Person, on Skype

Fourth graders at Lynbrook's West End School received a special treat when USMC Cpl. Gary Rochler paid a visit to their school.

The students had "adopted" Rochler earlier in the year, sending him letters to cheer him on during the holiday season.

Rochler has been stationed at the Marine Corps Air Station in Iwakuni, Japan, for three years. He made his first trip home on the week of May 28 to attend his sister's wedding and decided to visit his new friends at West End School while home.

After he presented a slide show of his base in Japan, Rochler answered questions from the audience. Students asked him what Japan was like, why he decided to join the Marine Corps, what his daily life is like in the military and where he has traveled since he enlisted.

Fifth graders in Donna Smith's class at West End have also been corresponding with a soldier via a web application called "Moodle."

U.S. Army Lieutenant Steven Ligouri is a former student who is stationed in Jalalabhad, Afghanistan, with the 427th Brigade Support Battalion of the 27th Infantry Brigade Combat Team. He was deployed to Afghanistan in early April and will be there until late December.

Smith's class had been writing back and forth during the year, then finally got to "meet" via Skype. Students entertained him by singing "God Bless the U.S.A." As a result of their experience, students plan to take the money that would have gone to their year-end party and donate it to Wounded Warriors.