Anchorage soldier leading drive for Iraq school supplies

By S. JANE SZABO
Anchorage Daily News

Political leaders often talk about "guns and butter," the merits of going to war to sustain an ideal in counterpoint with the idea of building up society's infrastructure.

A local soldier is spreading the butter on thick with Operation Gold Bridge, an effort to deliver school supplies to Iraq.

1st Lt. Paul Gonzalez is in Iraq, serving with the 173rd Airborne Brigade as an Executive Officer for Delta Battery, 319th Airborne Field Artillery Regiment. The Dimond High graduate has been working as the City Advisor in Altun Kopri, a town in Northern Iraq of about 11,000 people, with another 6,000 to 8,000 living in outlying villages.

The people of Altun Kopri don't need butter, but they do need school supplies. There are 5,000 school-age children in the area, with about 2,855 of them attending school. They need pencils, colored pencils, chalk, paper, folders, erasers, markers and other basic supplies. Gonzalez, his family members and friends have promoted a supplies drive in Anchorage Schools that is turning into a national crusade.

"It is mushrooming," said retired Judge Rene Gonzalez, Paul's father, naming cities that have shown interest in Operation Gold Bridge -- from Boston to Portland to San Diego, and states from Florida to Texas to New Jersey.

After their son wrote a letter about his idea, Anne Gonzalez wrote to several schools and Rene Gonzalez made presentations to the Eastside Rotary Club and the Bridge Builders board of directors. Bridge Builders and Rotary supported the idea, as did East, Dimond and Service high schools and Klatt and Oceanview elementary schools. One of Paul Gonzalez's suggestions is to encourage pen-pal relationships as a way to spread peace and intracultural understanding.

Rene Gonzalez said that among the people supporting the project is Miss Alaska Blair Chenoweth, a friend of Paul's from high school, who is promoting the cause as part of her personal appearances.

The other Gonzalez sons are helping too. David, manager of Tesoro Ice Arena and O'Malley Gardens, volunteered that location as a supply drop-off point. Rene G. Gonzalez, an attorney with the Stoel Rives Law Firm of Portland, made arrangements to work with the nonprofit group Mercy Corps to help with Operation Gold Bridge.

Perhaps Gonzalez's own strong educational background reinforced his awareness of how adequate tools can make a difference in learning. He was student body president and captain of soccer and hockey teams at Dimond High. After graduating in 1996, he attended the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, graduated in 2000, joined the Field Artillery and became Ranger-certified. He has been in Iraq since March, and expects to stay until April.

"In Iraq I have witnessed many significant and essential improvements to both the infrastructure, as well as to the quality of life for the local nationals," Gonzalez wrote in a Sept. 19 letter.

"In spite of all the help and aid the Coalition Forces have provided, there is much we are lacking in the form of basic school supplies, which are oftentimes non-existent. The people of Iraq need your help!"

TAKE DONATIONS OF SCHOOL SUPPLIES to Tesoro Ice Arena and O'Malley Gardens, 11111 O'Malley Centre Drive. Checks in support of shipping and other supplies for Iraq will be coordinated by Bridge Builders and can be sent to