• Contact Us
  • Events calendar
Entering Swellesley
Pinnacle, Wellesley

The Swellesley Report

More than you really want to know about Wellesley, Mass.

  • Advertise
  • Contribute
  • Eat
  • Wellesley Square
  • School
  • Top 10 things to do
  • Embracing diversity
  • Charities/Community
  • Arts
  • Camp
  • Kids
  • Environment/Sustainability
  • Events
  • About us
  • Subscribe
  • Natick Report
  • COVID-19
  • Letters to the Editor
  • 2021 Town Election
  • Bulletin Board
Needham Bank, Wellesley
Boston Sports Institute, Wellesley

Heartwarming Wellesley tale: The soldier & the 2nd grader

December 23, 2015 by Bob Brown Leave a Comment

soldier's letter
Soldier’s letter to Sprague Elementary 2nd grader

Here’s a nice Wellesley story to take us into Christmas and the New Year that stems from Sprague Elementary School students writing letters to soldiers as part of care packages that contained Halloween candy. The school was pleasantly surprised that one soldier had already expressed thanks, and now a second has done so via a somewhat more circuitous route.

It turns out that the letter from Sgt. Emmanuel Ortiz had made its way through the mail to Sprague High School in Washington State. But rather than that being the end of that, staff at the northwestern school did some research and a secretary reached out to our Sprague Elementary School to find out if the student’s name on the letter might be a pupil here. Sure enough that was the case, and the letter has made it to its intended destination.

If you’re having difficulty reading our copy of the letter, here’s a snippet: “You asked me ‘What do you like when you are in battle?’ Well let me tell you that realizing what I have to protect it’s bigger than me, and you are included in that list of things I have to protect my little friend…”

While we’ll forego naming the student and sharing the soldier’s location here for privacy’s sake, I hope the note and photo shown here will give you all you need to see. As Sprague Principal Susan Snyder wrote: “The best gifts are when people spend a little time to show they care!”

Sgt Ortiz, sprague
Sgt. Ortiz, left (woman is unidentified)
print
Share

Filed Under: Neighbors

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Linden Square, Wellesley
Write Ahead
Ann-Mara Lanza, Wellesley

Tip us off…

Please send tips, photos, ideas to [email protected]
Wellesley Square ad
Wellesley, Jesamondo
Sexton test prep
Feldman Law
Fay School, Southborough
Wellesley Theatre Project
Admit Fit, Wellesley
image of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
Never miss a post with our free daily Swellesley Report email
Name: 
Your email address:*
Please wait...
Please enter all required fields Click to hide
Correct invalid entries Click to hide

You can subscribe for free, though we appreciate any contribution that supports our independent journalism.

Click here to read our Natick Report

Natick Report

Events Calendar

« March 2021 » loading...
S M T W T F S
28
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
1
2
3
Tue 02

StretchLab, free demo

March 2 @ 12:00 am
Wed 03

Wellesley Historical Society lecture: Nat Sheidley on Open History, Enter Democracy

March 3 @ 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm
Fri 05

Open House at Boston Outdoor Preschool Network

March 5 @ 10:00 am - 11:00 am
Sun 07

World of Wellesley community book read

March 7 @ 3:00 pm - 5:00 pm
Wed 10

Open House at Boston Outdoor Preschool Network

March 10 @ 10:00 am - 11:00 am

Most Read Posts

  • Letter to the editor: in support of Columbus Day
  • Newton-Wellesley Orthopedic Walk-In—no appointment needed
  • Wellesley Business Buzz: Wellesley Office Park transformation underway; Digging Natick’s new Beach House volleyball center; 6 more small businesses get COVID-19 relief; Prepped and Polished adds Wellesley location; NatureWorks Landscape opening in Church Square; storefronts in for artsy makeover
  • Wellesley Police log: Another reason to wear your seat belt; new animal control officer gets action right off the bat; bumper sticker spat; unlocked cars stolen; tracking snow prints
  • Pinnacle Residential Properties: home for all stages in life

Pages

  • Guidelines for Letters to the Editor
  • How to submit your flyer for the Community Bulletin Board page
  • Wellesley Community Bulletin Board
  • Wellesley coronavirus (COVID-19) updates
  • Wellesley’s 7 official scenic roads
  • Wellesley, Mass., fishing spots
  • Wellesley Choral Society
  • Wellesley College Notable Alumnae
  • Wellesley College, Wellesley, Mass.
  • Wellesley outdoor art gallery
  • Wellesley restaurants offering take-out and delivery
  • Wellesley, Massachusetts restaurant — Amarin of Thailand

Recent Comments

  • Donna Ticchi on Letter to the editor: on celebrating two days
  • Donna Ticchi on Letter to the editor: concerns about denouncing Columbus
  • Carol Delaney on Letter to the editor: concerns about denouncing Columbus
  • Carol Delaney on Letter to the editor: concerns about denouncing Columbus
  • Carol Delaney on Letter to the editor: concerns about denouncing Columbus

Links we like

  • Great Runs
  • Jack Sanford: Wellesley's Major League Baseball Star
  • Taquitos.net
  • Tech-Tamer
  • The Wellesley Wine Press
  • Universal Hub
  • Wellesley Sports Discussion Facebook Group

Categories

  • 2021 Town Election (17)
  • Animals (381)
  • Antiques (48)
  • Art (540)
  • Beyond Wellesley (28)
  • Books (343)
  • Business (1,370)
  • Careers/jobs (44)
  • Churches (72)
  • Clubs (209)
  • Construction (280)
  • Dump (113)
  • Education (2,892)
    • Babson College (240)
    • Bates Elementary School (14)
    • Dana Hall School (29)
    • Fiske Elementary School (6)
    • Hardy Elementary School (33)
    • Hunnewell Elementary School (34)
    • MassBay (47)
    • Schofield Elementary School (20)
    • Sprague Elementary School (19)
    • St. John School (1)
    • Tenacre Country Day School (9)
    • Upham Elementary School (30)
    • Wellesley College (598)
    • Wellesley High School (888)
    • Wellesley Middle School (195)
  • Embracing diversity (44)
  • Entertainment (724)
  • Environment (673)
  • Fashion (134)
  • Finance (13)
  • Fire (142)
  • Food (328)
  • Fundraising (561)
  • Gardens (137)
  • Government (408)
    • 2020 Town Election (47)
  • Health (745)
    • COVID-19 (140)
  • History (359)
  • Holidays (365)
  • Houses (120)
  • Humor (45)
  • Kids (815)
  • Law (3)
  • Letters to the Editor (13)
  • Media (63)
  • METCO (5)
  • Military (3)
  • Morses Pond (97)
  • Music (544)
  • Natick Report (28)
  • Neighbors (248)
  • Obituaries (58)
  • Outdoors (585)
  • Parenting (60)
  • Police (695)
    • Crime (350)
  • Politics (545)
  • Real estate (290)
  • Religion (127)
  • Restaurants (303)
  • Safety (142)
  • Scouts (1)
  • Senior citizens (110)
  • Shopping (123)
  • Sports (901)
  • STEM (104)
  • Technology (154)
  • Theatre (383)
  • Town Meeting (22)
  • Transportation (210)
  • Travel (11)
  • Uncategorized (1,206)
  • Volunteering (319)
  • Weather (167)
  • Wellesley Election 2019 (21)
  • Wellesley Free Library (258)
  • Wellesley's Wonderful Weekend (5)
RSS Feed Icon Subscribe to RSS Feed

© 2021 The Swellesley Report
Site by Tech-Tamer · Login