A New Yorker living in Alpharetta is an unlikely match with the special needs kids at Mimosa Elementary School in North Fulton County, Georgia, but when you hear Lt. Col. Robert Quinn say that "the kids at Mimosa-they are my real heroes," you know he means it. Robert Quinn has served in the United States Army for 22 years. He's been in all the hot spots over that time.
Early in his career, Quinn spent time at Ft. Benning in Columbus, Georgia. What followed was time in Germany, when the wall fell; Somalia; Rwanda; Korea; and now on what he calls his "last hurrah," in Iraq. He is a tough man with compassion in his voice, and he carries around a collage that "his kids at Mimosa" made. He has carried this collage all over Iraq and had drivers and generals sign it.
He believes that children need to talk to each other so that we will never have to fight a global war again. This is a weathered soldier with lofty ideals of peace. Soldiers are the ones who have the most to gain by peace, and you see that in Lt. Col. Robert Quinn.
"Children in the world are our future and our hope, we must have them talk to each other," Quinn said in a phone conversation last week. To that end, while stationed in Korea, he started a letter writing program between school children in the United States and children in Korea. That program is still going on today. This year, he is beginning a similar program between school children in North Fulton County and children in Iraq. I suspect he will be just as successful in this project.
But don't mistake this soldier for a pushover. His commitment to the Global War on Terror is evident. He believes that President Bush has given good guidance and is committed to work with the Coalition Partners to "end it here." His colleagues in the fight said it best, "we are here to put a knife in the extremists' hearts and to end terrorism here." Several times, Quinn has made the point that the battleground is in Iraq, and that the time to end this is now.
Lt. Col. Bob Quinn lost 6 childhood friends and a cousin in the 9/11 attacks, and he said that it is hard not to take is personally. He believes that his efforts here will lead to a future where children will be able to talk to each other and prevent global terrorism in the future.
When I asked him about his family, he said that it has been hard. His daughter has had a tough time with her dad being deployed twice in the last four years, his son is helping out at home, and his wife is the real hero at home. But the Quinn family believes their father's work will make the world a better place. There was no mistaking the emotion in his voice when he talked about his family.
But then he began talking about the collage from Mimosa Elementary. The collage was symbol of the bravery of the special kids that make it through each day. He took the collage to an Armored Calvary Regiment (ACR) coming back from patrol. They thought they had a hard day, but when they saw the collage and learned that special needs kids from the United States had made it for the soldiers in Iraq, they realized that they didn't have it so bad. It is just like a soldier to think they don't have it so bad and then get back to the mission. They know what they are fighting for---they are fighting for the kids at Mimosa Elementary and for all of us.
Lt. Col. Robert Quinn is a Georgian. He may not have the accent, not yet anyway, but he has the heart. He's a transplant that loves the state but still holds on to enough of his childhood.
Godspeed to Lt. Col. Robert Quinn. We need people like him who make it their life's work to defend this country. His optimism and commitment are the things that will lead us to victory in the Global War on Terror.
Listen to Martha Zoller daily on WDUN AM 550 in North Metro Atlanta and Gainesville and log on the www.marthazoller.com to see what is happening with Martha Zoller. Her first book, "Indivisible Uniting Values in a Divided America," comes out in November and is published by Stroud and Hall.
Tuesday
February 4th, 2025
2:52PM
