SANTA ANA : U.S. Nurse Sees Pen Pal, Classmates

Monroe Elementary School student Paul Roa and his classmates sent letters to military personnel in the Persian Gulf this fall amid doubts that anyone would respond.

But Maj. Bernadine Donato, an Air Force flight nurse, read Roa’s handwritten note, wrote back, and vowed to visit the fourth-grader upon her return.

Donato, who said Roa’s letter lifted her spirits tremendously, kept her promise and met the fourth-grader face-to-face on Friday, after a six-week tour of duty in Saudi Arabia.

Besides meeting her pen pal, Donato attended a special assembly of fourth- and fifth-grade students at Monroe.

After the two pen pals were introduced by Principal Freda Odum, the youngster handed Donato, who will head back to the gulf after Christmas, a yellow rose with a yellow ribbon.

“I hope you take this yellow ribbon,” Roa said, “and come back safely.”

In return, Donato gave Roa one of her military identification (dog) tags, a squadron cap and a T-shirt.

“I want him to remember me,” she said.

After the gift exchange, Donato showed the group of 200 awe-struck students her desert gear and photographs taken during her deployment. Her bubbly enthusiasm quickly won over the students as she spent an hour answering their questions about what it is like to serve in Saudi Arabia.

Donato touched on a variety of topics, ranging from her feelings about the heat in Saudi Arabia, the food, the customs and her fear about the possibility of war.

“Sure I’m scared,” she said. “But I’m in the military because I want to be there.”

Donato told the students that she had to drink six large bottles of water a day in order to stay hydrated in the desert heat, which she said reached as high as 132 degrees. She said drinking the bottled water was preferable to eating the food, which she likened to “eating cardboard.”

“Our meals usually came in plastic containers. You would add water and try to turn them into something that tastes like food,” she said.

And the hot meals prepared by her squadron’s cooks were no better.

“I don’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings, but the food was so bad, there was basically an oil slick on everything,” she joked. “We used to say that the (waiter) should double as a doctor after we were finished.”

She also talked about camels.

“Everybody always wants to know about the camels. I’ll tell you something about camels. Camels are very tall and they are very mean. They also spit a lot,” she said, as the students roared with laughter.

After the assembly, Donato described her day at Monroe as “incredible.” She said she will think of the school and its students often during her next tour of duty, which may last into the summer.

“We don’t underestimate these kids,” Donato said. “Their letters really mean a lot to us. I wanted to show Paul that there really was another person on the other side of his letter.”