Home » Archives » "Priory-made dolls a big hit in Iraq"

Priory-made dolls a big hit in Iraq

Mar-16-2006 » Filed Under: 1/25 SBCT , 172nd SBCT

Link to Full Article
By Suzanne Roig

Army 1st. Lt. Nainoa Hoe of Honolulu hoped rag dolls made by students of a local school could bring joy to some children in war-torn Iraq.

Although he was killed by a sniper before the dolls arrived, his fellow soldiers ensured the dolls got to the right little hands.

Yesterday, a soldier and Hoe's father came to St. Andrew's Priory, where the dolls are made, to tell the students about the power of a little cloth and thread.

"We were getting ready to send him the dolls when he was killed," said his father, Allen Hoe, who served in Vietnam as an Army combat medic in 1967 and 1968. "His men picked up the ball during the rest of their tour."

His son was a 27-year-old platoon leader when he was killed in Mosul, Iraq, on Jan. 22, 2005.

With Allen Hoe yesterday was Command Sgt. Maj. Hector Davila, who told the students that the Iraqi children — even the boys — loved the dolls.

Davila, who is in Honolulu on R&R, serves in the 2nd Battalion, 1st Infantry out of Fort Wainwright, Alaska. In Iraq, his unit replaced Nainoa Hoe's 3rd Battalion, 21st Infantry, which is out of Fort Lewis, Wash....


Advertisements