Retired Army colonel thanks Salk students
Old Bridge resident wounded in Iraq pays emotional visit
BY MARY ANNE ROSS
Correspondent

CHRIS KELLY staff Retired U.S. Army Col. John McLean looks to his wife, Mary Ellen, while the Jonas Salk Middle School band and chorus perform “God Bless America” Nov. 4. McLean recently returned from Iraq, where he kept in touch with Salk students through letters.

Sometimes simple acts of kindness can influence people and places in ways we don’t expect.

When Thelma Polon heard that her longtime neighbor was being sent to Iraq, she wanted to show her support and concern. U.S. Army Col. John McLean had been called back to active duty one week after he officially retired from the Reserve.

Polon, an Old Bridge resident and secretary at Jonas Salk Middle School, admired the way he didn’t complain.

“He said, ‘I have a job to do, and I’m going to do it,’ ” Polon recalled.

She decided to send him a care package. But instead of sending one, she organized a drive at Salk. The collection became a project of the student council.

Above, Old Bridge High School Air Force Junior ROTC member Leo Lujban, 17, shows how a flag is properly folded during the Nov. 4 Veterans Day assembly at Jonas Salk Middle School. Retired U.S. Army Col. John McLean (right photo) shows students examples of the head wraps worn in Iraq during the Nov. 4 event.

Boxes were filled with shampoo, soap, powder, toothpaste, combs, simple items that most New Jersey residents take for granted but can be hard to come by in Iraq. Some students sent books and magazines. Teachers and staff pitched in and the PTA became involved. While everyone hoped the packages would bring comfort and cheer to the soldiers, no one imagined that they would help create bonds that perhaps would help save American lives.

McLean was assigned to the Task Force Shield, and he distributed the packages to the Americans, Iraqis, Englishmen and South Africans who were part of the coalition. He gave boxes to Marines guarding Saddam Hussein’s palace and to sentinels guarding checkpoints. He passed them out to soldiers providing security in Humvees and to chaplains helping Iraqi orphans and widows.

PHOTOS BY CHRIS KELLY staff

He was even able to share them with the Iraqi children who lived in adobe villages where they were stationed. The children were poor, and McLean and members of his unit enjoyed sharing the “goodies” the care packages contained.

This had a wonderful, but unintended, effect.

“We started building good relationships with the kids, which started building good relationships with the parents,” McLean said. “They learned about us that way. They learned we were different from what they had heard from Saddam Hussein and his people.”

Some of the children started learning English, and they began to warn the Americans of dangers.

“There were many occasions when a villager, or kids especially, would come up and say, ‘You don’t want to go down that road.’ Later, we would find out that there was an IED [improvised explosive device] or an ambush set up,” he said.

McLean, who has returned home after being injured in Iraq, visited Salk recently to finally meet the students in person. He spoke about his experiences in Iraq, and he explained that many Iraqi children could not go to school and that parents in the embattled country were risking their lives to have free elections for the first time.

McLean thanked the students and faculty for their packages and told the middle-schoolers that they probably didn’t realize the impact that they had as young Americans affecting people from around the world.

Carol Walp, the social science coordinator at Salk, said McLean’s talk made everyone feel proud.

“It was a wonderful learning experience,” Walp said. “He touched the heart of everyone who heard him.”

And the children were very impressed.

“They felt they were learning about the real world, not just something they would read in a textbook,” Walp said.

Walp has been trying to help her students learn about the “real” experience of veterans by creating a “Wall of Pride.” One wall in her classroom displays the names and rankings of parents, grandparents and other relatives who have fought in a war. Students spoke to veterans in their families and shared what they learned with their classmates.

McLean was injured during his tour by mortar fire that damaged his eyes. He is currently recovering from eye surgery, and he has retired from the service for the second time.

Despite his injury, he said he looks at his time in Iraq as “a great experience,” and he appreciates the support of his wife, friends, family and community.