Morale boosters from home

By SHERRI L. SHAULIS
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
GIRARD -- Thomas Ruskin, a technical sergeant in the Air Force, remembers getting a letter from a child he didn't even know.
While stationed overseas, Ruskin, who lives in Louisville, Ohio, got a letter addressed "To any solider."
Now activated with the 910th Airlift in Vienna as a Family Support Staff member, Ruskin and his colleagues are accepting similar letters to be sent to troops overseas in the Middle East and Afghanistan.
"It's a good feeling you get when you are over there doing a job and you get something like this," Ruskin said. "It's good to know people don't forget about you."
Ruskin -- along with Sgt. Lori DeLillo of New Castle, Pa.; Staff Sgt. Jeanette Holland of Canfield; and Staff Sgt. Donika Hickman of Cleveland -- were presented Thursday with more than 500 letters written by elementary and middle school pupils from Girard schools.
The letters were addressed and stuffed by students at Girard High School, and are ready to be distributed to soldiers in all branches of the military.
Proud to help
"We're really proud to be able to have these letters for the Air Force to get to our soldiers overseas," said Superintendent Marty Santillo. "Our kids at Prospect Elementary and Girard Intermediate were really excited to do this.
"I was overseas many years ago in another conflict, and I can tell you as a soldier how much you appreciate letters like these," he added.
DeLillo said the 910th has received similar letters from area church and youth groups. The 910th Family Support Staff, she said, is designed to help the families in the area who are separated from their loved ones, and to help the soldiers get whatever they need from back home.
The letters -- which offer prayers, patriotic drawings and wishes to see the troops return home safely and soon -- will help, she said.
Holland said troops overseas will appreciate the efforts of Girard's children because it shows they are being thought of.
"Regardless of your political views about Iraq and the war, we still have soldiers overseas," she said. "We have soldiers who need our support."
slshaulis@vindy.com