AFGHANISTAN-BOUND ALUMNUS ASKS HHS STUDENTS AND STAFF FOR SUPPORT

Jake Miraldi, HHS class of 2003, writes: "Hello from Fort Drum! I am the Platoon Leader for 3rd Platoon, Attack Company, 1-32 Infantry of the 10th Mountain Division. I am also originally a resident of Norwich, Vermont and a Hanover High School grad.

"We will be deploying to Afghanistan at the end of the year and need all the support that we can get! Anything from batteries to toiletries to letters and cards would be greatly appreciated. If you would like to support us overseas please call Laura and Lenny Miraldi at 802-649-1564 for further information."

Two HHS home rooms (Common Ground) collected items for Jake Miraldi and his unit. They're shown making posters. Jake, who graduated from West Point in 2007 and spent a year at Fort Benning, GA, visited HHS this week to explain his unit's mission and say hello to his teachers.

Athletic Director Mike Jackson writes: I am particularly happy to have had the opportunity to see and hear a young man who was so much a large part of the fabric of our school and community. After four years at the U.S. Military Academy and more years of training, he has grown so much more than the obvious changes he displays physically. Jake is a terrific public speaker with a very clear perspective on what he feels is important in Afghanistan and what he can do to help facilitate positive growth there. It was a genuine pleasure to have him back with us.It's really too bad that more of the school was unable to break free to experience the growth and position in llife of one of our own. We are proud of all the different paths our graduates have chosen and where they lead them. Jake Miraldi personifies that which, in my opinion, is the best of our product. While he is a professional soldier and talked about that part of his mission, he emphasized much more strongly the humanistic philosophy that is so important to him and his men over there.

It was an honor for me to be there when Jake Miraldi visited his roots with a clear message: "Help someone else." I will pray for his and his comrades' safe return to their family and friends.