submitted by Brian Bushner
Earlier this year, students in Ms. Stevens and Ms. McLenithan’s second-grade classes along with Ms. Grant’s third-grade class wrote letters to the sailors aboard the USS San Antonio. The students wrote the letters around Veterans Day to help boost morale on the ship.[private]
One of those sailors, Damage Controlman Petty Officer 3rd Class (DC3) Anthony Brownell, visited Hoosick Falls Elementary School as a surprise to the children who wrote the letters.
Anthony, along with some of his shipmates, created a plaque thanking the students for the letters. The plaque features an outline of the ship and a thank you message.
The sailors also signed the back of the plaque.
Anthony, who is originally from Greenwich, N.Y., is based on the USS San Antonio, based out of Norfolk, VA. His cousin, Ms. Emerson, is a Social Studies teacher at Hoosick Falls High School.
Anthony said, “I wanted to stop here today to say thank you, in person, for all of the thoughtful letters.” He added, “Receiving these letters on the ship was very special and we wanted to make sure that the kids know how much we appreciated that they took the time to do this.”
After presenting the plaque to the students, he took questions about the Navy and the ship. Onboard he is a Damage Controlman, which he explained to the children as mostly being a firefighter. The students had many questions about life on the ship and the places that Anthony had been.
Hoosick Falls CSD thanks Anthony for taking the time to come and visit the children, as well as his service to our nation. [/private]