Published: July 19, 2008 11:25 pm         

Enid man, area students team for children in Iraq

The battle for democracy in Iraq continues, but American heroism isn’t just happening in the Middle East. American civilians at home have demonstrated nobility by sending care items to the Iraqi people, which can be as valuable to them in the short-term as the soldiers who are fighting for their long-term freedom.

A third-grade class at Drum-mond Ele-mentary School provided one such example of generosity when it sent 17 teddy bears to Iraqi children in Baghdad last spring. The stuffed animals were not bought in stores — they were the personal possessions of children in the class.



The gifts were sent to Capt. Richard Dominic, an Enid resident serving as chaplain at a Baghdad detention facility for the 1-279 Battalion of the Oklahoma National Guard. Dominic’s daughter, Adelee, was a member of the class and said it “felt good” to send her teddy bear to an Iraqi child.

The Iraqi children were at the facility to visit detained family members.

“They (the Iraqi children) were very excited,” Dominic said from Iraq during a phone interview Saturday. “We had linguists explain to the children that these stuffed animals were sent by children in America, and it made it even more special.”

It was from their hearts, to the hearts of children nearly halfway around the world.

“Some kids, when they have things happen to them, they need something to feel close to,” said Dominic’s wife, Anna. “A teddy bear makes them feel loved and gives them something to hold on to.”

Dominic, who has been in Iraq for about six months, corresponded with the children through e-mail. Teacher Char-lene Parker shared the e-mails with the students, and they asked Dominic questions about Iraq and what he was doing.

One day, Dominic e-mailed the class and asked the children what they would like to do to help, and they decided to send their stuffed animals. When Dominic took a 15-day leave of absence to watch his oldest son, Tony, graduate from Drummond High School, he presented the third-grade class with an American flag flown in Iraq’s capital city. Dominic’s youngest son, Eddy, is 17 years old and attends school at Drummond.

Richard Dominic is the pastor at Your Family Church in Enid and the chief of police for North Enid Police Department. He served as a military police officer during Operation Desert Storm in the Gulf War in 1991 and re-entered the National Guard in 2005.

This time, Dominic was called to be a chaplain, and he has served 900 other Oklahoma soldiers at the Baghdad detention facility. He said he not only gives the soldiers spiritual counsel but also personal advice on issues such as marriage and family and financial difficulties.

Johnson said he had wanted to be part of the military growing up, and he took the opportunity in 1985.

“For me, it killed three birds with one stone: I could show my patriotism, fulfill my desire to be in the military and get my education taken care of,” he said. He served in the National Guard until 1993, then decided after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks he “could still do something good,” he said.

It’s a calling his family supports.

“People come up to me almost every day and tell me that they appreciate what he’s doing,” said Anna Dominic. “It’s very rewarding.”

Dominic is slated to return home in October.