By Mike LaBella
mlabella@eagletribune.com
May 02, 2009 12:02 am HAVERHILL — Casually dressed in jeans, a green shirt and green zippered USMC hoodie, Marine Lance Corporal Andrew Dick walked through the front doors of St. Joseph School and paused to look around. "Things haven't changed much," he said yesterday, while reacquainting himself with the school he attended until 2001 and where his older siblings, Thomas Dick, 27, and Katelyn Winship, 28, went until the eighth grade. Accompanied by his mother, Sarasue Dick, the 21-year-old Marine rifleman and language interpreter entered Andrea Carroll's third-grade classroom. "Thank you for serving our country," her students resoundingly proclaimed in unison. "You guys are awesome," said Dick, who has been serving in Iraq since September and is home on leave. The Marine returned to his old school to chat with students who "adopted" him and earlier this year had sent him letters of thanks and encouragement. His parents, Sarasue and Alan Dick, visited in February and told children to expect a visit by their son in the spring. "The kids have lots of questions for you," Carroll said yesterday. "You're a hero to us." Student Michael Currier was eager to learn if he'd brought his "sniper" (rifle) along with him. "Not today," Dick answered while sitting on a stool in the front of the class. He told them that much of his work was helping to keep the peace, as well as fingerprinting and doing retinal scans of captives. "What did you do when you were scared," asked Skylar DiPietro. "I prayed," he responded. Yuris Martinez was hoping for some sort of exotic response when she asked what he did during his free time in Iraq. "I slept, and I read your letters," he said, much to their delight. Carroll asked if he had a favorite memory of the school and he told children that he used to love gym. "Friday was gym day," he told them. If you could have three super-powers, what would they be?, asked Alex Tilden. After a momentary pause, Corporal Dick told Alex that he would like to have these powers: To be able to move things with his mind, to have ice power "like Sub-Zero," (a video-game character) as well as the power to fly. As the class marched out of the room for recess, Maryrose Steed walked up to the Marine and held out her notebook. "Can I have your autograph?" she asked, as he reached for a pen. After graduating from Central Catholic High School in Lawrence in 2005, Dick completed two years at the Massachusetts Maritime Academy in Bourne. He joined the Marine Reserves in June of 2006. Last year he volunteered for active duty in Iraq. This summer he will train with Ukrainian troops, then in the fall he'll return to Maritime. He expects to return to active duty next year and be deployed to Afghanistan. ÔÇæÔÇæÔÇæ Join the discussion. To comment on stories and see what others are saying, log on to eagletribune.com.
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