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Newton Falls soldier meets his senior pen pals
Army private visits his well-wishers
HOWLAND
Residents at Shepherd of the Valley in Howland were delighted Friday to meet the young man to whom they sent cards and letters while he was in Army basic training at Fort Benning, Ga.
Pvt. Brandon McDaniels of Newton Falls said the bundle of 15 or 16 messages he received “was a very nice surprise.”
“I didn’t expect to get letters of support from people I didn’t even know,” he added.
Some 30 residents gathered in the SOV-Howland Chapel to thank McDaniels for his service and wish him well. He is scheduled to leave for his first assignment after basic training today. He is a tank driver.
Several of the seniors who gathered are military veterans, including the Rev. John Benson, 91, who was in an Army artillery unit in Europe during World War II.
The Rev. Mr. Benson, of the Oil City, Pa., and Franklin, Pa., areas, who
was wounded twice and received two Purple Hearts, presented a framed Achievement Award from the residents congratulating McDaniels on graduating from basic and advanced individual training and thanking him “for what you are doing for us.”
After the brief ceremony, McDaniels greeted and shook hands with the seniors and thanked them for the letters.
“The residents were writing letters to friends and ran out of people to write to,” explained Traci Luther, SOV-Howland activity director.
Helen Gould, one of the activity assistants and an acquaintance of the McDaniels’ family, suggested they write to McDaniels.
McDaniels, a 2012 graduate of Newton Falls High School, is the son of Rodney McDaniels of Newton Falls, who accompanied him to SOV-Howland, and Dannette Gibson of Howland.
He has three brothers, Justin McDaniels of Newton Falls, and Anthony and Skylar Gibson, both of Howland, and a sister, Zoeie Gibson of Howland.
His grandmother, Evelyn McDaniels, lives in West Virginia.