Chris Ristig was a senior at McLean High School when 9/11 changed the course of his life. Like so many teens he had wondered what to do with his life, what his future would hold. But the terrorist attacks crystallized for the young man the idea that he needed to serve and defend his country. Shortly after graduating in 2002, Ristig joined the Army and entered the Special Forces. He is now deployed in the Middle East with a small unit that specializes in long-range reconnaissance. He often bunks down for the night in a sleeping bag in a foxhole, far removed from the comfortable and secure lifestyle he knew in McLean.
His mother, Linda Ristig, is a fifth-grade teacher at Franklin Sherman Elementary School in McLean. His youngest brother, Brian, is a student there, and Chris himself is an alumnus of the school.
On learning that the Ristig family had a son stationed overseas, a student at the school began asking what they could do to support the family. The PTA soon struck on the idea of creating a care package for the unit Chris is serving with. The entire student body and facility got behind the project and collected boxes of items to give the soldiers a little comfort while they toil in the desert for their country.
“This is a difficult time for her [Linda Ristig] and her family. Her youngest son is a student here. All her kids went here. We, as the Franklin Sherman community, wanted to do something to help,” said principal Marty Smith.
PTA member Shelly Sourbeer spearheaded the effort. “This is about Chris Ristig because Chris is every man over there,” said Sourbeer. His mother added, “We focused on the individual because it’s just about a boy who grew up here.”
Linda Ristig puts on a brave face for her students and co-workers at Franklin Sherman but says the family privately worries for Chris and treasures the intermittent 15-minute phone calls they get from him. “We have a yellow ribbon tied up outside our house. It was a private thing at first, but it’s now gone to the layer of community. That was a hard decision to make,” said Linda Ristig. “It serves the larger purpose of letting people remember that there are many people here and abroad who are serving the United States. On the one hand, that’s a very positive thing. On the other hand, we are watching the news.” When she is talking about her son’s situation, her voice often trails off and she looks away, thinking about a different Chris, she says, the boy who played Little League and football at McLean High School.
Sourbeer and Ristig say that the efforts being made by the students to remember the troops on Memorial Day have led to some teaching opportunities and a chance for the children to think about people outside of their immediate community.
“We put yellow ribbons outside the school on the trees. Kids came up and asked what a yellow ribbon is for. They’re asking what Memorial Day is, and we can explain it to them. I found myself breaking into song,” said Sourbeer, referring to the tune “Tie a Yellow Ribbon.”
Smith said that supporting Chris Ristig’s unit also teaches the students to think beyond themselves. “Obviously, the idea of giving and moreover the idea of support [are learned]. This is really a model for the entire community to follow. We have people here of different beliefs and ideologies. We respect that,” said Smith.
In fact, the school and the PTA went out of their way to remove politics and the realities of war from the care package drive. “We haven’t placed any political bent on it at all. Basically, we haven’t talked about the war or any campaigns,” said Smith. “We have a highly diverse background here. We have people from different parts of the world, places where there is turmoil, so it’s important that we work together on this.”
“If a family had a problem with it, they did not have to participate,” added Sourbeer.
Linda Ristig said, “There’s a sense of connection with so many people in this experience. The experience has really humbled us as a family, the outpouring we’ve seen. We are so incredibly grateful that people have bypassed politics and it hasn’t been an issue.”
Sourbeer said that a significant number of students come military families, so reaching out was natural. The second phase of the drive was born out of an experience that Sourbeer’s husband had at a military hospital in Bethesda. In addition to the care package, students also made cards in art class to send to the forgotten victims of war. “The art teacher helped the kids make cards that will be given to the families of the soldiers who are recovering here. Many of these boys, 18 and 19 years old, are from somewhere else, and they are recovering here. The military will get the cards to the families, their parents, wives, kids. Some of the cards ... make you want to cry, they are so insightful and sweet,” said Sourbeer.
The soldiers convalescing at local military hospitals, said Sourbeer, are getting notes and remembrances, but their families, who also sacrificed, are not. “Sometimes you’ve got a young wife, 20 years old, with a small child, and her husband is in the hospital. We wanted to do something for them,” said Sourbeer. The PTA also bought a stash of Beanie Babies and angels that hospital officials can disperse to families and soldiers.
“This is the right thing to do. Beyond politics, or anything else. This is the right thing,” said Sourbeer.
Brian Ristig, Chris’ younger brother, has served as a living reminder to his classmates that families around the country are making a sacrifice in defense of freedom. He, like his mother, is very proud of his brother and speaks of him in glowing terms. Brian made sure to include his brother’s favorite brand of peanuts and lemonade in the care package. “He really likes them. It’s going to make him happy,” said Brian. “I told [students] that they didn’t have to donate, but there are all these troops out there and you might want to donate so that they can have more stuff and be healthier,” said young Brian. His brother’s unit has been eating military-issue Meals Ready to Eat (MREs).
Linda Ristig recently learned that her son will be stationed overseas for longer than originally thought. She said, “At a minimum, it will be a year. But he knows that. He chose to serve.”