GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — Students at Howard Elementary School got a special visit Thursday from a retired Army colonel who traveled from North Carolina to express his gratitude for the students’ military appreciation.
William “Bill” Hamilton, who currently serves as the Deputy Chief of Operations, Plans and Training at the US Army Reserve Command headquarters at Fort Liberty, spoke to nearly 50 kids, including second graders from Ms. Nellie Novoselatz’s classroom.
Green Bay native Rebecca Brawner, a Lieutenant Colonel serving on active duty at Fort Liberty, is Novoselatz’s cousin. She works in the office next to Hamilton and described the touching story that led up to his visit to Green Bay.
Every Veterans Day for the past 15 years or so, Nellie would send me a package with letters for all my coworkers (soldiers and veterans serving as Department of the Army Civilians) to thank them on Veterans Day. No matter how many names I send her each year, Nellie and the other teachers make sure they all receive a handwritten letter from one of the kids… sometimes 40+ letters are sent, complete with adorable drawings and truly wonderful notes of inquiry and appreciation.
Hamilton was one of the letter recipients and was “so moved” by the students’ and teachers’ gestures.
“I said, ‘Man, we’ve got to do something to thank these kids.’ And so we started thinking maybe virtually, we could do FaceTime. It just so happens I had a trip to Fort McCoy, Wisconsin planned,” Hamilton explained. “And I got to looking on Google Maps. I realized it’s only about 150 miles between. I could take a day of leave… just drive over and meet these kids in person.”
During his presentation, Hamilton — wearing his full dress uniform — told the students “they can be anything they want to be and do anything they want to do.” He also discussed with them the importance of respect, trust and community service.
Above all, Hamilton said he hopes his visit shows the students and staff at Howard Elementary how much the letters mean to the servicemembers who receive them each year.
I just want them [the students] to know that there’s somebody out there that really appreciates what they do. I want the staff here at this elementary school to know that we really appreciate it… On behalf of all those soldiers who did get a letter for Veterans Day, I just want the kids to know that they really care. Soldiers love to get letters like that from little kids, they really do.
Hamilton gave the students and teachers signed certificates of appreciation and special-made coins, in addition to making them honorary members of his 1978 class at West Point Academy.
“We are grateful for veterans because they fight for us and they can keep us alive if there’s something really bad,” said student Lilah Vandevoort, who thought Hamilton’s visit was “really fun” and that he had a cool uniform.
Another student, Elyse Lamkin, said her favorite part was “getting to listen to all the exciting things he gets to do in the military.”
She added one thing she’ll always remember from Hamilton’s visit is “to respect people no matter what.”
