Even if he has spent weeks in the brush without showers or decent food, reading a letter from New Hope Middle School students brings a smile to Russ Hudson”s face.
The 101st Airborne Infantry soldier serving his first tour of duty in Afghanistan has received letters from the seventh grade English class since August, he said.
The letters are part of an in-class exercise organized by teacher Liza Shannon, who taught Hudson when he was in eighth grade. She also offers extra credit for students who write letters.
Since beginning the project in August, the class has sent two letters and a thank-you note.
Hudson, who is back home for 15 days of rest and recuperation before going to Kandahar, Afghanistan, on Oct. 5, visited the class last week.
What have the letters meant to you?
It”s an awesome feeling. I couldn”t ask for anything else. That”s why I do it — for the people I love. It means a lot to see how much they care.
There are days when you wake up and don”t have the greatest day. But then you read one of the letters and it puts a smile on your face. Me and the guys read the letters and get a kick out of it.
What”s it like to meet the students?
It was pretty neat. I enjoyed it. I don”t know what to say. They even got me a military Bible with my name engraved on it. The kids were awesome.
They were excited. Some were shy, but overall, they seemed glad to see me. They”ve been writing a stranger this whole time. They knew what I did but not who I am.
Where are you going when you get back to Afghanistan?
I”m going to Kandahar, the birthplace of the Taliban. It”s supposed to be pretty rough down there. I kind of want to go back to be with the guys, but I”m also kind of dreading it.
It makes it easier having all this support. E-mails, letters — it can be the smallest things that make the day turn around.
What are the living conditions for soldiers in Afghanistan?
The American food was horrible. We”d try to boil the rice and it would come out all lumpy and hard. We could never get it down. You had a bunch of infantry guys trying to be cooks and that didn”t work very well.
We ate boiled rice and chicken at Combat Outpost Munoz in the Paktika Province of Afghanistan. We stayed three months and everyone lost 15 pounds. No showers or nothing. It was just horrible out there.
I used to go eat goat and some kind of paste and flat bread with the Afghanis. They eat goat hearts and livers with rice.
How does it feel to be back in the U.S.?
It”s kind of different being home after being over there so long. You get nervous in crowds. I used to eat two or three cheeseburgers, but now I can only eat one. I”m not used to the rich food. It was good, but I can”t eat it like I used to.
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