By JOSEPH KELLARD
"I remember when military men used to come speak to us, so it's sort of weird to be in that position yourself now," Flaquer, 18, said after he and Torborg described military life to Janis Amer's third-grade students at Hegarty Elementary School in Island Park last week.
While Flaquer attended Cornwell Elementary School in West Hempstead, Torborg, 17, went to Hegarty. Among Amer's students was Torborg's sister, Amanda Malone. The day before, he had shown up at his former school wearing his dress blues and white hat to pick up his sister. Students stopped to stare and ask him whether he was a real soldier. "I remember the police, firefighters and militarily people coming in to see us in my class, and now I'm one of them," Torborg said. "So it's pretty cool and honorable how the students look up to you."
Wearing their green, short-sleeved alpha uniforms, decorated with red National Defense ribbons, the two West Hempstead High School graduates stood at the front of the classroom and told the students about their experiences in boot camp on Paris Island, South Carolina. One girl asked Torborg, "Did you want to be a Marine when you were little?" He replied, "I wanted to be a Marine since I was about your age."
Amer's students came to know Torborg a bit through letters Amanda brought to class that he wrote to her from Paris Island, where he was without access to a phone or e-mail during his 13 weeks of training. "It was really important for her to have those letters," Amer said, "because she was very upset when he left. You could notice it."
Torborg's mother, Barbara Torborg, who accompanied the young Marines and chimed in to assist them in telling the students their tales, said, "It was very scary not hearing from him at first," and added that she, her husband and three other children have had to adapt to being a "military family."
"I think having Amanda bring in those letters makes the war more real to you," Amer said.
What became very real to Torborg and Flaquer in boot camp was the Marines' rigorous training, which included routinely walking miles at a time lugging heavy backpacks in the South Carolina heat. They also endured "the Crucible," in which they trained for 54 hours with minimal sleep and food. "They learned that they could do that and get through it, and will remember it if they ever find themselves in that kind of a situation," Barbara told the students. This rite of passage earned them their eagle, globe and anchor emblem that officially designates them Marines, and which they pinned to their green hats that they held upright as they spoke to the students.
The children learned that the Marines rise at 4 a.m. and hit their bunks at 8 or 9 each night.
Flaquer graduated from WHHS in 2005, and Torborg's class finished this month, but the National Honor Society student completed his schooling in January. Since the two friends hung out and played lacrosse together throughout high school, they decided to enter the military's Buddy Program, which allowed them to go to boot camp together. They reported to Paris Island on March 13 and became bunker mates, although they were often separated during training.
Rather than dwell on the hardships of boot camp, Torborg and Flaquer focused on telling the students about the results. "We learned the importance of friendship, and to trust people, and how to rely on others," Torborg said.
Flaquer added, "The Marines teaches you how to be respectful and disciplined." Torborg also explained the Marine's code of honor, courage and commitment.
On Tuesday, both Marines were due to board a flight to Camp Geiger, N.C., where they will spend 28 days in combat training. "They'll learn how to survive with pretty much nothing," Barbara said. From there they will head to a base in Pensacola, Fla., where each will learn an occupation. Torborg's is air crew, and he will spend nine months learning to fly and fix helicopters for rescue missions. Flaquer will spend six weeks learning how to load weapons onto airplanes.
"He has the fun job," Torborg joked.
Asked what it was like to see her brother visit her class, Amanda simply smiled and said, "Exciting."
One issue that went unmentioned was the reality that after their training, both young men will likely be deployed to war-torn Iraq, where their lives will be at stake." About two days before he left for South Carolina, James started to grasp the reality of his lifelong dream to go into the military," Barbara said. "And he began to feel that, What if I get killed in Iraq?"
Barbara went on to say, however, that his outlook changed after boot camp. "James told Principal [Gloria] Maffatone, when she told him, 'I hope you don't have to go to Iraq' ... 'You know, if I have to go, I will go because those are my brothers over there.'"
Comments about this story? JKellard@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 287.
Photos Ira Lewis/Herald
