HELLO, HELO

PALMER — Hundreds of students from Swanson and Sherrod elementary schools screamed and waved hello as an Alaska Army National Guard UH-60 Black Hawk Helicopter landed on the playground behind Swanson Elementary School Sept. 14.

As part of “Mission Black Hawk,” the high-tech fighting machine and its crew spent several hours giving tours to students and staff. The visit marks a years-long friendship between the military and students and staff at Swanson and Sherrod, said Swanson Principal Mary Mayer.

Mayer said her school has lots of military families impacted daily by active duty deployments. Students have collected items for care packages and other activities to stay connected, and it’s not just the students who are affected by deployments, she said. School staff members such as Rebecca Hardy and Diane VanHoomissen have spouses in the military that have served long deployments.

Most of the passengers and crew on the Black Hawk that day had ties to the Swanson and Sherrod school communities.

Hardy’s husband, CW5 John Hardy, commanded the UH-60 Black Hawk with Command Sgt. Maj. Marc Petersen. Both men returned recently from yearlong deployments to Iraq. Other crewmembers included CW4 U.S. Army Guard Pamela French, and Swanson parents Army 1st Sgt. Jerome Jones and George Kurtz.

Petersen’s son Wesley is a first-grader at Swanson. Jones’ son Jared is in third grade and his daughter, Jadyn, is in kindergarten. Kurtz’s daughter Kyleigh is in kindergarten at Swanson and his son Isaac attends Sherrod.

Contact Heather A. Resz at heather.resz@frontiersman.com or 352-2268.