MIAMI TOWNSHIP — A U.S. Navy man took time from his leave in Pearl Harbor to come hereMonday to personally thank children for supporting his recent Operation Enduring Freedom tour.

        Fire Controlman Class 3 Michael Woods, stationed August to January with 350 crew members aboard the USS O'Kane destroyer, which was deployed in the Persian Gulf, visited 13 classes at Charles L. Seipelt Elementary, totaling more than 700 students.

        Mr. Woods' aunt, Karen Vome, is a third-grade teacher at Seipelt and had arranged for kindergarten through fourth-grade classes to adopt the USS O'Kane's crew after Sept. 11.

        The children sent letters and a holiday shipment of six care packages totaling nearly 420 pounds to the ship's crew for the holidays. Packages included almost 100 pounds of candy, letters, hundreds of playing-card decks and colored pictures for the O'Kane's men and women.

        “It was great,” said Mr. Woods, a Clermont County native. “Everybody said this was really cool, said go back and say, "Thank you.' Letters from children have a little more effect because a lot of the guys have children that age.”

        The school's Character Council, a student organization that the focuses on citizenship, organized the package collection. The PTA paid more than $200 for the shipping, according to Barb LiCalzi, Character Council co-chairwoman.

        Mr. Woods brought students pictures from his travels. He told stories of seeing ocean animals, meeting indigenous wildlife in Thailand and of bellyflopping 25 feet into the Pacific Ocean on Christmas Day. He told what Navy food was like and how often crew members became seasick.

        Though he would not give specifics such as the ship's speed or if guns were deployed, his presentations were met with gasps from the students.

        “He was exciting, and he told us a lot,” said second-grader Kathleen Phelps, who was impressed that there were 75 women aboard the USS O'Kane.

        Mr. Woods, assigned to the USS O'Kane for five years, said that he chose to come to Milford rather then relaxing in Hawaii because he wanted to let the children know the contribution they had made.

        “Looking at these kids and seeing their eyes light up when they see me, I wanted them to see that they can do great things,” Mr. Woods said.

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