----Source: Marshfield News Herald (Marshfield, Wood County, Wis.) Fri, May 27, 2005

Iraqi war vet talks with kids

Medford soldier home on leave spends time at Unity center

By Jeni Lewis; Marshfield News-Herald

UNITY, WIS. - When Lance Cpl. Adam Bohn is discharged from the U.S. Marine Corps in two years, he wants to teach Wisconsin's youth.

He got a jump start Thursday morning, showing pictures of his experiences at Al Asad Air Base to the Little Stars Preschool and the kindergarten classes at Unity Early Learning Center.

Questions about the war, what he did, how old he is and how he took a shower flew around Bohn, 20, of Medford as he paged through his picture book.

His duties in Iraq were motor transportation and driving supplies between the bases.

Bohn's appearance came at an ideal time to help teach the students about Memorial Day. Kindergarten teacher Brian Quarne said his class writes letters to kindergartner Tyson Klement's dad, who is stationed in Iraq. They also send care packages, and they are working on a way to display a flag flown over a base in Iraq.

"We do a lot of fun stuff for the Army," Klement said. On Monday, his yard will be decorated to honor Memorial Day.

"We are going to have a lot of flags stuck in our yard," he said.

In one picture, Bohn showed the 3-, 4-, 5 and 6-year-olds the landscape of Iraq isn't all sand, but there are jungle-like water zones.

But Bohn said the soldiers didn't enter those areas because snakes and spiders hide there from the hot sun. This started the class on a discussion on whether spiders are scary. Bohn said they were.

"I was worried about questions about guns," Bohn said. "I don't want them thinking that's all that's going on." He also didn't wear his uniform because he didn't want to frighten the young children. They had seen a picture of him in uniform at the base, but until Thursday, had never met him in person.

Students asked what he did in his free time, and he said he watched TV and played games. He also visited with children, handing out soccer balls.

"We met a bunch of kids over there, just like you guys," Bohn said. "Kids didn't have (TVs), that's what we're trying to bring them." Kindergartner Alyssa Schade thought having Bohn visit was good to help learn about soldiers, veterans and serving America. On Monday, she plans to go to the high school for a Memorial Day ceremony. She had two grandfathers who served for the country.

"One was in the Marines, one was in the Army," she said.

Bohn sent the class an American flag in January, and he brought Iraqi money for the children to see on Thursday. Students were interested in the camel printed on the back of the bill.

"The people over there are really nice, but they don't have a lot of stuff," Bohn said.

He is on a 17-day leave to visit family in Medford, and is flying back to Camp Pendleton in California June 1. He expects he'll be sent back to Iraq in four or five months.