Written by Sgt. Jon Heinrich
1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (AA) Public Affairs
Jeffersontown, KY – Twenty-eight soldiers of the 2nd Battalion, 320th Field Artillery, 1st Brigade Combat Team, visited Saint Edwards School, November 29th.
Lt. Col. Matthew Stader, battalion commander, said that his unit has been linked with the school since 2003.
“I’m the fourth battalion commander that’s been part of this relationship with the St. Edwards School and Jeffersontown,” said Stader. “What the community does is sponsor the battalion for at least eight years now.”
After arriving to the school, he soldiers moved into the gymnasium to meet all the students and the faculty.
During the gathering in the gym, Bill Dieruf, the mayor of Jeffersontown, presented the battalion with a certificate of appreciation, and in turn Stader presented one to the mayor and one to the school.
After the presentation and speeches, several of the students brought bags and boxes full of gifts to the soldiers.
“This school continues to sponsor the soldiers,” said Stader, “and so literally, the 400 plus kids all donated their time and collected toys for over 300 children of the Balls of the Eagle battalion.
“Not only did they donate Christmas gifts this year, but they gave last year and have done it three other times,” continued Stader.
According to Stader, one of the former sergeant majors of the battalion was Command Sgt. Maj. Ronnie Curry, who is the brother-in-law of Joyce Curry, the principal of St. Edwards School.
“Oh it’s a tremendous,” said Mrs. Curry. “This makes a connection for my students that they can now know, ‘Oh that’s who I send my thanks to.’”
Immediately after the kids were released from the gym, the soldiers gathered up all the gifts and loaded them into the moving van.
Once that was complete, they filed into three different groups and went to visit different classrooms.
“I brought 28 soldiers up here, and we spent all day going through the classrooms and explaining what it is we do,” said Stader.
In each class, the kids asked different questions varying from whether the soldiers liked their job, why they joined and how long they’ve been in. One class even asked the soldiers for their autographs.
After answering questions, the kids were allowed to try out the equipment that was brought in: helmet, body armor and weapon magazines.
Each group visited about five classes, each class being used from grades such as Kindergarten all the way to 8th Grade.
About 11:30am, the soldiers ended their tour of the classrooms and went to the school’s cafeteria to have lunch with the students. Everyone was allowed to choose from a corn dog, grilled cheese or chicken sandwich.
After finishing lunch, the soldiers said goodbye to the kids while telling them how much fun it was to be able to visit them and thanking them for all the donations they gave.
“For you all to come and express that, it makes a great connection for them,” said Mrs. Curry. “Sometimes, when you’re that young it’s hard for them to make that connection, so being able to connect the dots is huge for them.”
“For me, what’s important is maintaining this relationship and continue to foster this bond between St. Edwards School and Jeffersontown so we can continue to develop the relationship for future ‘Balls of the Eagle soldiers’,” said Stader. “The relationship that is built between us and our counterparts is just one that is completely cherished.”
