On Monday, Sept. 14, students at New Horizons Elementary School in Wilmington received a video call from thousands of miles away.
The students waited as the screen came to life revealing men and women with the United States Air Force. Among them was U.S. Air Force Capt. Joe Jacobs, an F-15 Weapons Systems Officer whose stepmother is Amanda Jacobs, the school’s director.
The connection between the squadron and the school began several years when Joe Jacobs was stationed in Goldsboro. He has visited the school several times, and Amanda Jacobs recalled he would let them know when he was going to fly over, and the students would gather outside and watch for his plane.
One morning in March 2026, Amanda Jacobs was preparing to lead “Community Circle”
with the entire student body, but she was anxious. Joe’s squadron was carrying out missions in the Middle East, on this day, three F-15s had been shot down. They had not yet heard from Joe.
“I was supposed to talk about a certain topic, but I didn’t have it in me,” Amanda Jacobs recalled.
She decided to spend circle time talking about Joe and his service to the country, omitting the scary details. She also shared photos of him, his squadron and his jet.
“Many of our students are now the age Joe was when he came into my life 25 years ago, which made the moment feel especially meaningful,” Amanda Jacobs wrote in a statement about the day.
The students responded by expressing the desire to write letters to Joe and his squadron.
As the students were crafting their letters in class, Henry Barmore, a kindergartner, asked how to spell the word, “Sick.” His teacher reminded him they weren’t writing to Joe because he was sick. Henry then explained he was writing, “Sick jet.”
The students’ letters flooded in with messages like “Keeping being awesome!” and questions like, “Do you like to read?”
Amanda Jacobs had included some care package items for the squadron, but Joe and the squadron talked mostly about the letters.
Henry’s letter particularly resonated with them. It said simply, “Sick jet, From Henry,” and was illustrated with Henry’s signature duck. The group loved it so much, they made it into a T-shirt, adding a little hat to Henry’s duck in honor of their unit the “Mad Hatters.”
When Joe came home for a break, he brought Henry one of the shirts — a special one signed with all squadron’s members’ call signs.
On Sept. 14, all the school’s students wore their shirts as they video-chatted with the Squadron. The students had the opportunity to interact with the squadron and ask questions.
“Where are you?” Henry, now a first-grader, asked.
“In the desert,” answered, Capt. Jacobs whom the students affectionately call “Joe.”
“Is it fun to fly your jet?” another student asked.
“Yes!” several members of the squadron answered.
As the call ended, the students began chanting “Joe, Joe, Joe...” and thanked him and the squadron for what they do to keep everyone safe.
Renee Spencer is the community engagement editor at the StarNews. Reach her at rspencer@usatodayco.com.
This article originally appeared on Wilmington StarNews: How Wilmington students lifted spirits across the globe
