Student mentor heads to Afghanistan
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Lt. Col. Carol Hitchcock hugs Hannah Perillo following ceremonies honoring Hitchcock at Park Street School in Springfield. Hitchcock is being deployed to Afghanistan with the 86th Infantry Brigade Combat Team. |
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By Josh O'Gorman STAFF WRITER - Published: October 30, 2009
SPRINGFIELD — Lt. Col. Carol Hitchcock might be leaving town, but she'll remain in the hearts of community members.
The 45-year-old commander with the 86th Infantry Brigade Combat Team is one of about 1,500 members of the Vermont National Guard who will be deployed to Afghanistan. For the past three years, she has also been a mentor to a Park Street School pupil through the "Let's do Lunch" program.
"Carol came to us with some unusual experiences because she works full time for the Vermont National Guard and usually goes to the school in full uniform, so I am sure she stands out in the crowd at the school," said Marie Gelineau, executive director for the Three River Valley Regional Business and Education Partnership, which operates the mentoring program. "This is fitting for our mission because our goal is to connect youth with business professionals from the community so that they start thinking about careers and what they are interested in at an early age."
"We just eat and talk and sometimes I go over to her house and play with her dog," said 9-year-old Hannah Perillo, Hitchcock's mentoring partner, as she stood on the front lawn of Park Street School, holding a drawing of an American flag and a certificate of appreciation for Hitchcock.
Perillo was not alone. The entire school gathered around the flagpole Thursday morning and honored Hitchcock for her mentoring work and her mission.
"Basically, they've adopted me while I'm overseas, so they're going to write me letters while I'm away," Hitchcock said prior to the event. "My goal is to share with the kids what I'm doing and to show them the world at large and I'll be able to show them how kids their age live over there."
Also present were members of American Legion Post 67 of Chester and Springfield VFW Post 771.
"Two of us were there for (Operation) Desert Storm, so we know what it'll be like," said Springfield VFW member Vito DeMarco. "We're just here to support Carol and the troops."
The event was both a flag-retirement and a flag-raising ceremony. A color guard comprised of Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts took down the old flag, donated in 1989 by 30-year Air Force veteran Roger Jones on behalf the Springfield High School class of 1959, and replaced it with a new flag recently donated by the local chapter of the Benevolent & Protective Order of Elks.
Principal Martha Young said the school will mail the new flag to Hitchcock, who will raise it over her base in Afghanistan and send it back to the school.
"You children live in a country that is free because of people like Col. Hitchcock," Young said.
Hitchcock did not speak during the event, and afterward seemed slightly embarrassed by the attention.
"This was overwhelming. Personally, who am I to have anything in my honor? I've been blessed to have this job for 28 years," she said. "All these people coming out, that really speaks to the community, and to see all of those little faces, wow, that's why we're fighting, right?"
josh.ogorman@rutlandherald.com