Troops get class act

Deepa Bharath

Gary Mathieson knows what it is to witness the ugliness of war.

As a U.S. Air Force Reserve officer, his job was to fly wounded

soldiers from combat zones in Iraq and Afghanistan to the safety of

hospitals in Europe, where they could get complete medical care.

Mathieson just started teaching physical education at Corona del

Mar High School this school year, after about two years in Europe as

part of the 730th Air Support Wing.

Now, the teacher, along with a club at the high school, has

organized a Help Support Our Troops drive to create care packages and

back-home encouragement for the troops.

Mathieson will be heading back to the war on Oct. 31, this time

for two weeks. He’ll deliver the supplies himself to the soldiers,

Mathieson said.

This is the kind of opportunity that members of the new club on

campus called Anthro have been waiting for, said members Zan Margolis

and Amanda Knuppel, both sophomores.

“Anthro in Greek means humankind,” Amanda explained.

“The goal of our club is not to focus on one issue but to look at

humanity as a whole,” Zan said. “What we want to do is to pinpoint

global issues and get people on campus to focus on those.”

Mathieson brings the war closer to home for students, she said.

“The headlines are a lot more personal to us now,” Zan said.

Mathieson said he was stationed in England and Germany during much

of the war.

“I’d fly from there to Afghanistan or Iraq or Kuwait to bring

wounded soldiers back for treatment,” he said.

His job was like a firefighter’s or paramedic’s, Mathieson said.

“We’d get half an hour’s notice and would have to be ready to

leave in no time for a 24-hour mission,” he said.

He would then have to fly to the so-called “dark zones,” or enemy

territory, during the night, pick up the wounded and then return

before daybreak.

“We’d turn on the lights only 20 feet above the ground right

before landing, so no one can spot us and then turn them off after we

land,” Mathieson said.

Piloting that airplane gave him “a strange feeling,” he said.

“There were men and women without limbs and some were dying on the

plane,” he said. “I felt that the sacrifice I was making was nothing

compared to what they did. They were the ones who were on the ground

24 hours, 365 days a year.”

American troops in Iraq are most in need of motivation and

encouragement than anything else, he said.

“They believe they’ve accomplished something worthwhile by

fighting terrorism and getting rid of a tyrant,” he said. “They like

to hear from home. Cards and letters just saying ‘thank you’ mean a

lot to them.”

But supplies such as candy (Starburst and Skittles are favorites),

trail mix, canned chips, nutrition bars and personal items such as

antibacterial wipes, nail clippers, combs, blank holiday cards,

toothbrushes, toothpaste and new or gently-used digital video discs,

compact discs or books are also welcomed and needed.

The students encourage handwritten letters for which addresses or

stamps are not necessary. Items may be donated on campus at the front

office or at the community service office. The drive, which started

on Oct. 1, will continue until Oct. 29.

The response has been positive so far, Amanda said.

“We’re only a week into it,” she said. “We’ve already received

quite a few items.”

The school hopes to continue supporting the troops through

Mathieson, said Denise Weiland, community service coordinator and

club advisor on campus.

“We have a Giving Tree in the library during Christmas,” she said.

“We plan to collect school supplies for the Iraqi children this

year.”

* DEEPA BHARATH is the enterprise and general assignment reporter.

She may be reached at (949) 574-4226 or by e-mail at

[email protected].