Finally meeting Sgt. Amy Day after months of letters and photos, second graders at Independence Elementary had a few questions.
“What was the hardest thing for you,” one asked the veteran of the War in Afghanistan.
“Leaving this one for 15 months,” said Day, picking up her son, Dylan. “That’s a really long time.”
Her favorite part?
“We had a Dairy Queen, a little one in a trailer, so we’d get a treat every now and then,” Day said. “There was also the bazaar ? Afghan people set up tables and we’d, buy things.”
Did she ride on a dune buggy?
“No, I didn’t. Would have been fun, though.”
Was she injured?
“Luckily, none of us was injured,” she said. “We weren’t in a bad area.”
Did she shoot anyone?
“No, I didn’t.”
“Awwww,” the children said.
Day, who was stationed at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan with the 101st Airborne Division, visited the school, June 9. She also brought her father, Eric Zasacky, and brother, Doug Zasacky, and fellow Screaming Eagle, Sgt. Kevin Littleton.
“It’s cool for us to meet her, and put her face together with the pictures we have of her,” said Principal Chris Turner.
The second graders also sent care packages filled with gum, Chap Stick, ground coffee, hard candy and other items as part of their S.O.C.K.S., Servicing Our Community Kid Style, project.
“We wanted to let them know that what they do, really matters,” said teacher Linda Zittel. “Sending care packages to a person from our own community ? what a great learning experience. For Amy to come here in uniform to talk to the kids, shows them how what they do affects others.”
Day and her fellow soldiers looked forward to receiving the packages, and shared in the contents.
“There were boxes and boxes of it,” she said. “They put smiles on everyone’s faces.”
Day presented to the school an American flag flown on an Apache attack helicopter on a mission over Afghanistan and signed by her commander, and for each student, a 100-Afghani bill, each worth maybe 20 cents, she said.
She returned to Fort Campbell, Ky., from overseas on May 9, where she expects to stay at least until the end of the year. She plans to go to school in the Army’s Green to Gold program, to become an officer.