JOINT BASE MCGUIRE-DIX-LAKEHURST, N.J. -- After a year of exchanging letters, 16 sixth-grade special education students from Jonas Salk Middle School in Old Bridge, N.J. got the chance to meet their real American heroes - members of the 621st Contingency Response Wing's 818th Global Mobility Squadron here June 9.

The letter writing program was started through an arrangement between Lt. Col. Pete Carrabba, commander of the 818 GMS and Ms. Victoria Mikrut-Billig, sixth grade special education teacher at Jonas Salk. Colonel Carrabba felt the Airmen under his command had something special to offer these unique students. Mikrut-Billig saw this as an opportunity to bring education to life.

"A better way to enhance education is to make it come alive by writing a true American hero," said Mikrut-Billig. "With this in mind we started a letter writing program."

The dialog was aimed at improving the students writing and reading skills. In this regard, she saw real impact.

"Writing a sentence with four words turned into sentences with eight words because they took the word Soldier and added adjectives to define what a Soldier was," said Mikrut-Billig. "It was beneficial in the sense that it increased their desire to learn and it gave them something tangible to hold on to. It upped the ante because at the end of the year they would have a field trip to meet their pen pals."

The year-long wait was finally over on June 9. The first stop for the students was the McGuire Air Force Base flightline where they met a crew and a team of maintainers for a C-17 Globemaster III. The children received a guided tour of the aircraft and even got an opportunity to sit in the cockpit. For these students, some who have never even stepped foot on a plane, it was the opportunity of a lifetime.

"My favorite part was going onto the cargo plane," said Sean Bogan, a sixth-grade Jonas Salk student. "It was a lot cooler than I thought it was going to be. I think the Soldiers and Airmen should have great pride in what they do for protecting our country. They are doing a good job of keeping our country safe."

The students then received a tour of the 621 CRW's Global Reach Deployment Center here, which houses the equipment CRW Airmen use to perform their duties around the world. They were allowed to start the engine on a 10K all-terrain forklift, sit in the cab of a next generation small loader cargo handling vehicle and spin around in the gun turret of an up-armored HMMWV. After the tour of the facility, the students shared a lunch with members of the unit and talked with their pen pals.

"I came here today to meet my pen pal," said Master Sgt. Lashone Muldrow, 818 GMS contingency response team leader. "The teachers told me he talked about this a lot. I had no idea the impact one letter would have on a kid. It is touching to get that kind of response from a child, it is amazing."

The tour ended with a presentation from the students to their adopted unit. Over the last year, the students collected more than 1,200 drink mix packets and other personal items for deployment use. They also donated a tree which is scheduled to be planted at the CRW headquarters. A plaque will also be dedicated at the site to honor the partnership between the unit and the school.

"These students had an opportunity to do something most kids only get to see in pictures," said Mikrut-Billig. "They had the opportunity to be special in different ways, other than just having that 'special' label assigned to them. They were chosen by these Airmen to come and partake, to experience and to have a whole base lift them up and care enough about them to show them the workings of a base. To make them think that today, they are the only ones who are special."

The 818 GMS plans on continuing the partnership with the school and hopes it can continue to have a positive influence on the students.

"Our Airmen can show these kids if you work hard, you can achieve your dreams; many of our airmen in uniform have overcome obstacles themselves," said Colonel Carrabba. "I think we can have an impact on them, we can change their lives. You never know who's going to cross your life and be the one person who makes the difference."