Soldier, pen pals reunite in Elgin

One Algonquin soldier stood on both the giving and receiving ends of thanks Thursday when he visited old friends.

Air Force Staff Sgt. Dave Lange, the longtime pen pal of Linda Van Dyke's second-grade class at Highland Christian Academy in Elgin, came to visit the students who so diligently wrote to him over the past four years. Lange returned in December after serving in Iraq.

"He called me and said 'I want to thank the kids,'" Van Dyke said. "The wheels started turning after that."

When Lange entered the school gym Thursday afternoon, he got a surprise visit of his own. Along with the school's 144 students waving flags and hand-drawn welcome-home signs stood members of the Warriors Watch Riders Northern Illinois Chapter.

Warriors Watch Riders, according to their Web site, is a nationwide troop support group that provides motorcycle escorts for military units deploying to and returning from war, and for individual soldiers coming home or going off. About 20 Riders were at Highland Christian.

Lange shook his head in disbelief as he made his way to the podium, remarking that he was "utterly shocked" by the welcome.

His mother, Diane, also of Algonquin, said keeping the surprise from him was difficult.

Lange spent the better part of the next hour answering students' questions about his time served, including where he slept in Iraq, how the children there lived, and how he spent his free time.

"How did you take a bath?" one student blurted out. "Very efficiently," Lange replied.

"Did you ever sleep in a ditch?" another student asked. "I've slept just about everywhere," Lange said.

Lange, who served the Air Force from 2001 through last December, said he may consider re-enlisting in the future, but for now he plans to focus on earning his bachelor's degree.

Students Carter King, 9, and Jamie Anderson, 10, admitted it was difficult to think of what to put into a letter going to someone so far away.

Lange told the group the best way to support troops is to keep writing letters. "You did a great job through all the years. I always had a letter from you guys. Keep doing what you're doing. It means a lot."

Lange presented Van Dyke with a flag flown during one of his trips overseas.

"You've seen today what makes this country great," Warriors Watch member Joe Alger told the students. "These men and women take chances, have camaraderie - they mean so much to us."

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