FORT CARSON, Colo. (AP) _ The kindergartners at Patriot Elementary School are busy pasting cutout paper socks in smallest to largest order when the shouts ring out:
"Mr. Carlos. Mr. Carlos."
The dark-haired man in the Army uniform heads over to one table and crouches, eye level, to 5-year-old Caleb Marlatt who gives him a big smile and holds up his paper.
"Good job. Don't forget to put your name on it," the soldier says, moving on to other children who are eager for his attention.
Caleb, watching the other kids mob the soldier, says in a loud whisper, "Mr. Carlos is like my dad. My dad is in Iraq since I was a baby. I want to see him. Mr. Carlos is not my dad. But Mr. Carlos helps you like a dad."
And the ki
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