US Soldier Visits 'Kindergarten' Pen Pals Who Wrote Him Letters 13 Years Ago During His Time In Iraq

Oct 28, 2019 by apost team

Spending time in the military has its challenges, and a group of children who were Brigadier General Vincent Buggs' pen pals from kindergarten through high school helped him get through those tough times. In fact, he told GMA that sitting in a bunker by himself after being deployed for months had caused him to become really lonely and stressed, but then he'd receive letters from those in the U.S., and they'd help him reconnect with his home country, his home culture. He never forgot how much those letters meant to him and was so grateful that he got to finally meet those students.

Thirteen years ago, Buggs started writing to a group of kindergarteners at David Emanuel Academy in Stillmore, Ga., a city of 500 located 180 miles southeast of Atlanta and 30 miles west of the Georgia Southern University campus in Statesboro; Buggs is a GSU alumnus. How this connection had started was that he initially helped the class with a gingerbread man project after he had heard about it from GSU's alumni office, but they followed that by continuing to write each other and send each other things in the years that followed. Some of those items were American flags that had been flown in Iraq in the children's honor. This generous act was featured in a local newspaper at that time.

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The letters meant so much to the children too. After their emotional reunion, Jenna Mosley said that it was the little things that ended up meaning so much to them. According to The BL she said, "I remember he would always send Kinder chocolates, and that was so exciting." They added that it was special to hear how much the interactions had meant to Buggs over the years. 

The reunion was also one of the most emotional of Buggs' life. "For me, it was like everything from that time period when I was deployed came back in an emotional rush, the missions we were going through and them writing me," Buggs told GMA. "I had a surreal moment of remembering the stressful times and how humble and happy I was to get a letter from them."

David Emanuel Academy has shared several photos of the reunion and spoke about the kind gesture that formed this special bond that has lasted through the years.

Have you ever had a pen pal before? What was that experience like? Did you ultimately meet your pen pal? Let us know in the comments and be sure to spread the word about this article!