Thursday, March 20, 2003

             Dear Matthew,
             Greetings from Miami Florida ! I am a second grade teacher wishing to have
            my students exchange some greetings with people that are in the front lines.
            Would you be kind enough to let us write you a few lines?
            We are all very proud of our service men and women, and would like to send
            you our best wishes.
            Sincerely,
            Maria Gyory

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        Friday, March 21, 2003  6:13 AM
                 
                        No problem. I can also talk to the public affairs office or my division
                       about putting up that email somewhere where my shipmates and I can read it.
                       It will be appreciative.
                                                                      Matthew
 

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   Sent: Saturday, March 22, 2003 10:39 AM

        Dear Matthew,
       Thank you so much, I will let the kids know on Monday, they will be very  excited !
      Our thoughts and prayers are with all of you !
       Maria Gyory

    

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Tuesday, March 25th

     Dear Matthew,
  Regards from all our second graders here at North Beach  Elementary, in Miami Beach Florida !
   Today I spent a lot of time talking to the children  about you and I showed them pictures of the
   Constellation. The children were amazed at the size and  beauty of the ship. They asked me a lot
  of questions, and were very eager in knowing how you spend your days in the carrier.
    I observed that they were pretty serious about the subject, and nobody made a joke or a silly question. It was kind of a somber discussion, and many wanted me  to tell you how proud and how thankful they  were. Here are some of their thoughts:
     

  " Don't worry, if you have any questions, ask us and we  can give you advice."
    " Thank you for protecting the USA and other  countries."
     " Good luck to all of you!"
     " I hope you have a safe and good trip and your friends too."
 
  The children are very interested in knowing about you  as a person.

    Do you have a girlfriend or a wife?
    Do you have kids?  Are you afraid to go to war?   Did you  want to get involved in the war?  

    How old are you?  Is your family worried about you?
 
   They also wanted to know if you like what you do and for how long you have been working on the carrier. There were many questions about your life aboard the ship. Do you exercise? What kind of food do they give you? Are there any girls on the ship? Do you feel  safe on the ship? What do you do in the carrier? What kind of planes do you have?
 
  Once again, I thank you for sharing with us your  thoughts and feelings.

                   My regards,
 
                  Mrs. Gyory and her students...

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Tuesday March 25th 8:pm.

I spend 8 hours serving food, 2 hours training to be a journalist. I take a two hour class every other day for college. it' s freshmen English. The rest of my time is spent reading email, writing, and playing PS2. all of my games are my favorites. I end up sleeping 3 hours a day, but that's fine. I wouldn't have it any other way right now.
I am happily married, and have been since June. I have no kids, just two cats that are absolute troublemakers. I am 20 years old.
War is a part of the job. I don't need to be afraid, just sharp.
My wife worries about me, no matter how many times I tell her to stop. I might be in some type of harms way, but everyone does that, at some point during their day. Everyone is vulnerable to the end of their lives. so instead of worrying or living in fear, I live it up. Everyone dies, but not
everyone really lives.
I have been on ship since December, and I work out every other day to stay in shape. The food is incredibly bland, it just makes me appreciate my cooking more. There are females on the ship, but not many. other ships have more females to males ratio. subs don't allow females, and are the only ships that are all male. We have every kind of plane that the navy has on ship. we have one helicopter squadron, and helicopters of all kinds land to refuel.

Matthew

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April 12
Dear Matthew,
> Hello from Miami Beach, Florida ! Our class has been following the latest
> news about the war and we are very happy that war seems to be almost over.
> We saw how the statue of Saddam Hussein was taken down and how the Iraqi
> people celebrated their new freedom.
> The children wanted to know how the people in the ship took the news. How
> did you find out about this event? Also, what was the general feeling? The
> children also wanted to know if you had shown their letter to other
> sailors.
> Do you know how much longer the Constellation will be in the gulf? When do
> you think you will be returning home?
> Our regards and best wishes,
> Mrs.Gyory and her class

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April 13

we saw it. we were happy. we get on the ship.
we'll be home soon. can't tell you when, its a secret.
Peace,
matt