Marine from Albion visits kindergarteners in Batavia, thanking them for letters while he was at boot camp

Staff Reports Posted 1 February 2018 at 8:43 am

Photos courtesy of Batavia City School District

BATAVIA – A Marine from Albion visited kindergartners in Michelle Restivo’s class in Batavia, thanking them for their letters and cards while he was at boot camp.

Private Brandon McGuire stopped by Restivo’s class during playtime as a way to thank them for their kindness while he was in boot camp.

A friend of the Restivo family and a 2017 high school graduate, McGuire enlisted in the Marine Corp. He spent both Thanksgiving and Christmas in boot camp. For 87 days recruits were unable to use phones or technology to communicate with family and friends back home. Instead, they relied on “snail mail.” When Restivo’s daughter realized that some recruits were not receiving any mail at all, she wanted to find a way to ensure that all would have a card or note for Christmas.

Restivo knew that her students would be happy to put their creativity to use in card-making. She also passed on the request to the other kindergarten and first grade teachers at Jackson Primary. It wasn’t long before she collected more than 200 handwritten and colored cards from the Jackson children and teachers, which she mailed to Private McGuire.

McGuire was recently home for a few days after graduating from boot camp at Parris Island on Jan. 12. He is now in North Carolina for five weeks of infantry training. When he completes that, he transfers to Camp Lejeune for military operations schooling.

Return to top