Katie Ludwig, a fifth grader at Gehlen Catholic, sent out care packages and randomly one made its way to a Kingsley native stationed in Iraq. That soldier, Eric Sitzmann, paid Ludwig and her class a visit Wednesday to thank her for the care package and tell the students about life in Iraq. Sitzmann, a Lance Corporal in the U.S. Marines, hopes to finish his four years in the service then attend a law enforcement academy and serve as a police officer, maybe in his home town. [Click to enlarge]

Do care packages to soldiers make a difference? Kingsley native Eric Sitzmann would say so.

Last fall, the 20-year-old U.S. Marine ripped open one of six care packages 11-year-old Katie Ludwig sent to soldiers in Iraq as part of a 4-H project.

Ludwig, a rural Le Mars fifth grader, wanted to connect with the troops, but she had no way of knowing which soldiers would receive her gifts.

Randomly, one of her care packages made its way to a young man who grew up in Kingsley -- only about 30 miles away from where she lives.

He was surprised to find it from a girl so close to home.

That package of candy and sports magazines became just the first of many Ludwig sent Sitzmann during his seven months stationed outside of Fallujah.

But on Wednesday, the fifth grader got to deliver a care package to the soldier in person. He came to Gehlen Catholic School to visit her.

"I'm glad I finally got to meet you," he said to Ludwig after giving her a hug in front of her class. "Thanks for everything. We wouldn't be able to do our job if it wasn't for people like you."

(Advertisement)

Sitzmann had actually called Ludwig earlier this year to tell her he planned to visit.

"He actually gave up calling his parents to call her on the phone," Ludwig's mom Donna said.

Donna helped the fifth grader and her siblings send enough care packages to soldiers to rack up about $500 in postage throughout the last year.

"I want them to learn to give of themselves," she said. "The soldiers give everything -- their holidays, their time with family -- to protect us. This is a little thing we can do."

She said it takes about three weeks and $11 for a package to get to a soldier in Iraq.

Ludwig had more to give Sitzmann on Wednesday -- a camouflage Easter basket and a fleece tie blanket she made herself.

"Going over there I never had an idea things like this went on," Sitzmann said. "It's nice to see the support, even from people who don't know you. We see all the anti-war propaganda. Even the smallest act of kindness drowns that all out."

On Friday, Sitzmann will be heading to California to train for his next seven-month tour of duty.

"It's looking like we'll possibly be going to Afghanistan," he said.

Being away from home isn't easy, he said, recalling his experience in Iraq.

"Once you've been there for so long, you feel like you're living on a different planet," he said. "The terrain is different, the weather is different."

But one way that kept him feeling like he was on the same planet as home was the mail he got from supporters in the U.S.

As for the pen pal friendship that began with a random care package, Ludwig and Sitzmann agree that it has only just begun.

"It seemed surreal to finally be able to meet her," Sitzmann said, giving a smile to the fifth grader now wearing his camouflage hat. "I plan on staying in touch."

SIDEBAR

From the heat of the war zone

Eric Sitzmann, a Lance Corporal in the U.S. Marines, spent an hour visiting with Katie Ludwig's fifth grade class, telling them about life in Iraq.

He joined the Marines for the challenge, and his seven months in Iraq were nothing less than that.

"We got there in the middle of July, and the temperature every day was in the 130s or 140s," he said. "In the first 43 days I was there, I didn't get to shower."

The students looked surprised.

"Don't worry," Sitzmann laughed. "I showered today, and I promise these clothes are clean."

His group's main job in Iraq was to control traffic coming in and out of Fallujah.

"We searched a lot of people and vehicles to make sure they were not trying to bring in any bad stuff," he told the fifth graders. "Every time we went out on foot patrol we had Cobras and Hueys flying over us, scouting out the area ahead."

The fighting, he said, wasn't like people see in the movies.

"It's all inside the cities, houses," he said. "And they (people we're fighting) blend in with the regular people, so we never know who we're fighting."

But Sitzmann told the class he didn't want to spend time talking about the fighting.

"I'm here to talk about the brighter side, the good we're doing over there," he said.

One student raised her hand and asked a tough question: Is the war going to end?

"The war will end," Sitzmann replied. "One of the most important things we're doing there is to train the Iraqi police and military to defend themselves. Once they're ready to take over, the war will end. Not too much longer. If I had to guess I'd say two or three more years."

Sitzmann told them about how most of the Iraqi people live in concrete and brick houses -- often with their extended family. Many people near Fallujah farm because it is close to a river, he said, and almost everything is done by hand.

And, he said, there aren't gas stations. Some people just sell jugs of fuel as their job.

A fifth grader asked Sitzmann what the Iraqis are like.

"The people are really nice there," he answered. "They want us there, and they help us out a lot."

One of his favorite memories was visiting an Iraqi school and bringing the students five pallets of backpacks, notebooks, paper and pens.

"When they hear us coming on vehicles, all the kids mob out of the buildings to come see us, always wanting candy," Sitzmann said. "It's nice to see we have their trust."

Sitzmann told the class about meals he's eaten with religious leaders in Iraq. The meal itself was a reminder that the soldiers were in a very different land than they were used to.

"There's no silverware. You eat everything with your hands," he said. "And they have this bread, kind of like a giant tortilla, and you scoop a bunch of meat up with it."

They eat a lot of chicken, he said, and some goat and sheep meat, but no pork, since it's outlawed by their religion.

"And they drink a lot of tea, called 'chai,'" he said. "They served it in tiny cups, half sugar, and we sat around sipping it after dinner."

But nice meals were few and far between. Sitzmann said that for much of his time there he only had one hot meal per day. Sleep was also in short supply.

"For a while we were getting five or six hours of sleep every two days," he said.

Care packages like Ludwig's help soldiers get through those times.

"It raises morale when you're so tired, getting hardly any sleep," he said. "They let you smile. It makes all the bad things you're going through worthwhile."