CAMP TAJI, Iraq - Command Sgt. Maj. Stephen Klunk keeps a box in his home in Hanover, Pa. In it are keepsakes that remind him of significant events that have shaped his career as a Soldier over the past 38 years in the military.
When he returns home in the fall, he will need a bigger box.
That's because Klunk, the senior enlisted staff member of Task Force Joshua, 108th Field Artillery, 56th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, has new memories - memories of the time he spent helping to prepare his unit for deployment to Iraq; memories of time spent in Mississippi and Louisiana training for an ever-changing war in the Middle East; and memories of time spent at Camp Taji, Iraq where his unit is responsible for both traditional missions as well as a slew of non-traditional field artillery missions.
One of the things that his box of memories is sure to include is a stack of letters from the Spring-Ford Middle School Seventh Grade Center in Royersford, Pa. where his daughter, Melinda, teaches math.
Susan Fryer, a reading teacher at Melinda's school, thought that it would be a good project for her students to write letters to Command Sgt. Maj. Klunk and his fellow Soldiers, adding, as she put it, "a ray of sunshine" to the lives of Soldiers serving in the 56th SBCT.
"First of all it means, to me, that these young students are being taught by good teachers," says Klunk. "They're trying to instill the right things and they care. [The letters] put a big smile on my face. A couple of these even brought a tear to my eye. It means a lot that this young generation is thinking about our freedom. It gives you hope."
Klunk, a full-time Army National Guard member, has spent most of his career supporting Soldiers who have deployed to places like Bosnia, Kosovo, Afghanistan and Iraq. But, because of his position within the 28th Infantry Division, the career Soldier was never afforded the opportunity to deploy - a fact that has weighed heavily on him for a long time. Finally, after years working at division headquarters, Klunk returned to the unit from which he came, the 1st Battalion, 108th FA, just in time to deploy.
"[Deploying to Iraq] just puts the icing on the cake," he says. "Everything I've done to this point and being in the position I'm in makes it all worthwhile."
Although he says he speaks to both his wife and daughter on a regular basis, Klunk now feels like he has dozens of children - none of which he's ever met - who share their support, dreams and aspirations with him.
"A lot of the letters I've received are personalized," he says as he reaches for one of more than 100 sheets of paper sprawled out on his desk. "This one that takes particular attention was done by a boy named Ryan. It says 'Yo! I'm just an average kid in the Seventh Grade Center. I would just like to say that it's awful brave for people, such as yourself, to join the Army. Also how much it means to everyone that you're willing to fight for our country. I'm sure that everyone in the U.S.A. appreciates you and your fellow inmates.'"
Klunk chuckles for a moment, then adds, "He's not too far off calling us 'inmates,' but at least we can get out of jail free at the end of the day."
Soldiers of the 56th SBCT have gotten thousands of boxes from individuals and organizations throughout the commonwealth. Although the contents may vary, the sentiment is the same - someone back home is thinking of them.
"For me, you can see the love and thought and care that goes into each and every box," he says. "They pack them as full as they can get them. It's like I told my wife the other day, I probably have enough shaving cream to last me for another deployment!"
To thank Mrs. Fryer and her students for their kindness, Klunk has prepared a special care package of sorts. It contains a flag that was flown over Task Force Joshua's headquarters building [the Base Defense Operations Center (BDOC)], as well as a memorial plaque, photos and a letter of his own, thanking the teacher and her students for all that they have done.
Klunk hopes that, in some small way, his efforts will be a reminder to the children of Spring-Ford Middle School that their thoughtfulness was appreciated by the members of his unit. It is his hope that, like the keepsakes he stores in a box in Hanover, the students will be able to look at the flag with fond memories of what they did to improve the morale of a Soldier thousands of miles from home.
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