HANDLED WITH CARE MARINE THANKS CAPISTRANO STUDENTS FOR CARE PACKAGE.

Byline: MARK KELLAM Valley News Writer

In November, a group of fourth-graders at Capistrano Elementary in West Hills put together a care package for a local Marine serving in Iraq. Six months later, he dropped by to thank them personally.

Lance Cpl. Chris Gates, 20, of Moorpark visited the classroom of teacher Mark Van Dam to tell them how much he appreciated the 100-pound care package that was filled with items such as CDs, DVDs, dental floss, tooth brushes, books and Pop Tarts.

Many of the students brought in the extra candy they'd gotten for Halloween and put it in the package, which was sent in November so Gates would receive it in time for Christmas.

Gates is on a month leave, so he decided to stop by and visit the students who were so generous to him.

Van Dam, also a Moorpark resident, got Gates' name and address from his neighbor Erin Olivera, who is Gates' sister.

During Gates' visit, the students asked him questions.

One student asked why he joined the military.

Gates said he'd always dreamed of defending his country. ``Then, after the 9-11 terrorist attacks, I knew it was my calling,'' said Gates, who has been in the Marine Corps for two years.

Another student asked if Gates had a favorite job as a Marine. He said he enjoyed being a turret gunner, manning a 50-caliber, long barrel machine gun atop a Humvee. He often wears night-vision, or thermal, goggles while on patrol, which brought enthusiastic reactions from some of the students.

Van Dam asked how the morale was among the troops in Iraq and if negative media coverage back in the states disheartened them.

Gates said he and his fellow Marines occasionally would see bad press about the war, but they knew that a majority of the U.S. citizens backed them.

He added that whenever they receive a care package, like the one the Capistrano students sent, it reminds them how much support they have back home.

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Photo:

Marine Lance Cpl. Chris Gates, standing, center, visits teacher Mark Van Dam's classroom at Capistrano Elementary. The students are, kneeling, left to right, Ashley Lopez, Victoria Gonzalez, James Freeman, Crystal Cruz, Alexander Te, Nino Mayores and Felipe Gouzy. Standing, left to right, Andrea Alvarez, Lynh Vo, Angelica Crook, Ashley Rey, Katherine Villanueva, Royesha Johnson, Lexie Cruz, Brenda Lopez, Tania Taheri, Alexandria Eriksen, Laurence Santos, Steven Kazariants, Steve Perez and Greg Brown.

Mark Kellam/Valley News