The current 6th grade class at the St. Rose of Lima School received a surprise visit from SPC Joseph Weber on Monday, November 3.

Last year, when the class was in 5th grade, their teacher Mrs. Santinello had the children write to this soldier as part of a class lesson. At the time he was stationed in Iraq for over a year. The children sent him their thanks and prayers for protecting their freedoms. A year had gone by and the children did not know if he had ever received his letters.

While visiting his grandmother this weekend he asked if it were possible to stop by the school and say hello to the children. Thanks to Principal Sr. Kathleen Gallina, SPC Weber got his wish. The school quickly adjusted their morning schedule on a moments notice and in stepped the tall respectful young man and his proud grandmother, Angela Weber.

SPC Weber is part of the 108th MP Company who is back in the United States on active duty for the past 3 months. He visited the students and told them to listen to their parents, stay in school and have fun. The children asked him an assortment of questions including, "Where did he live while in Iraq?", "What was the temperature?", "Was his uniform heavy?", "What did he eat while he was there?", "What did he do during the day?" He patiently and proudly answered all of their questions and told them about the life of an active duty soldier.

SPC Weber originally signed on for 2 years and when that time was up, he extended his tour of duty. He expressed his desire to keep us safe and was proud of his unit. He told the children about the good things that he and his unit had done while in Iraq that included helping children and their families. He always dreamed of becoming a Police Officer but the age in his home state of California prohibited him from realizing his dream after graduating high school. He thought he would take advantage of all the Army had to offer and get training for the job while in the Army. He believes he will again extend his tour of duty, which may include a deployment to Afghanistan.

Sister Kathleen thanked the young man and reminded the children that if it were not for soldiers like SPC Weber, we would not be safe.