Learned from

a U.S. Marine

The following letter was written to Cpl. Kayitz Finley of Oak Park in response to a presentation that he gave to students at A.E. Wright and A.C. Stelle middle schools on Oct. 10. This letter was chosen from more than 120 student letters. Finley is a U. S. Marine who was "adopted" by several students last year while on active duty in Iraq.

Dear Cpl. Finley,

Thank you for taking time from your break to come and talk to us at A. E. Wright Middle School. Your presentation gave me a whole new perspective on the war in Iraq. Before you talked to us, I thought that the war had been a big waste because you did not find any weapons of mass destruction. But your presentation enlightened me that Saddam Hussein had treated the people of Iraq very poorly and that when the Marines went there you made the lives of those people a whole lot better.

Although I am still against the war, I’m glad I live in a place that I can be against the war but still am able to support our troops.

I’m also glad that, right or wrong, we always have Marines ready to follow orders without question and with pride.

With gratitude,

Jake Martin

Seventh Grade Student

A.C. Stelle Middle School