Life imitated art for a group of Fort Riley area children Feb. 23 when a real-life "chocolate pilot" paid them a visit to read a story about a U.S. Air Force pilot who dropped candy from his plane for the children of West Berlin in 1948.
More than 40 children and 33 adults packed into the Forsyth East Child Development Center at Fort Riley to listen to Col. Frank Muth, deputy commanding officer of support, 1st Infantry Division, read "Mercedes and the Chocolate Pilot," a true story written by children's author Margot Theis Raven about the Berlin Air Lift of 1948-1949.
Muth, an Army aviator with 27 years of experience, showed up to the event wearing his flight helmet and carrying several bags of chocolate for the children. His reading was the main feature of Tell Me a Story, a bi-annual event organized by the Fort Riley chapter of the Military Child Education Coalition's
Parent to Parent program to promote early childhood literacy.
Muth said tears came to his eyes when he first read the story about a little German girl who wrote a letter to a U.S. Air Force pilot requesting that he drop chocolate in her yard to make up for her Family's lack of food.
The story had special relevance to him because it mirrored events from his own life, he said.
He served as the squadron commander of the 1st Squadron, 17th Cavalry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division, which deployed to Iraq to conduct air missions in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2004 and 2005.
"There was a town in Ohio who sent us hundreds of pounds of prepackaged candy in bags," Muth said. "In safe areas we used to fly in low and slow and drop them for the children."
Muth said he was happy to have the opportunity to read "Mercedes and the Chocolate Pilot" to the children because it shows them the humanitarian side of military missions.
"We fight our nation's wars, but we do a lot of other things, too," he said.
Blaire Benz, a team member for the Parent to Parent program who helped organize the event, said it was wonderful for Muth to come and do the reading.
Benz said Tell Me a Story was one of several free workshops and events the Parent to Parent program hosts for military parents throughout the year.
"Our goal is to reach out to parents and to help them become their child's strongest and best advocate in matters where education is concerned," she said.
The average military child changes schools seven to nine times in their school career, Benz said, and the Parent to Parent program equips military parents with tools they can use to make these transitions easier.
"All of the workshops and resources we offer are rigorously vetted and compiled by our MCEC office," she said. "I have not attended or facilitated a workshop where I have not heard someone say, 'I didn't know that,' or 'Wow, I'm going to use that.'"
Benz said the program strives to "empower parents with information they can use to make their children's lives easier or better or in some way."
The single most important thing parents can do to boost their children's early education is to read to them, according to research conducted by the National Institute for Literacy. Reading aloud, with children actively listening and engaging with the story, is crucial for the development of knowledge required for success in reading.
The Tell Me a Story event modeled the kind of reading experience research suggests is most enriching for children because the reading was followed by a facilitated discussion and a craft for the children to do that was connected with the story.
After hearing the story, the children made their own candy packages by attaching miniature chocolate bars to toy parachutes.
The purpose for the craft was "to bring in some kind of ownership of the book" and make the children "feel like they're invested in the story," Benz said.
Jessica Fulton, a Fort Riley parent who brought her 4-year-old daughter, Emma, said the event was a huge hit with her daughter.
"I think this was really great," Fulton said. "I would definitely do it again."
Benz said parents who are interested in finding out about more free workshops or resources offered by the Parent to Parent program in the Fort Riley area should search for the Parent to Parent, Fort Riley Kansas Facebook page.
Related Links:
Fort Riley's Parent to Parent chapter
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