Carson High School students had a hero in their midst and they didn't even know it.
Mathew Beckstead was just another teacher there until he was called up for Army Reserve duty last month.
Beckstead is a captain in the Reserves. He is part of the military police force stationed in Fort Carson, Colorado Springs, Colo.
In a recent phone interview, Beckstead explained what it is he's doing in Colorado.
"We're part of a field exercise battalion," he said. "That means we train units for possible deployment. We have them from mobilization to departure."
He first started his career in the military as one of the few, the proud, the Marines. He spent two years in the Corps, reaching the rank of lance corporal, before he switched to the now defunct Army ROTC unit at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
Because he'd already gone through basic training in the Marine Corps, he only had to spend two years in ROTC.
He was commissioned in 1989 as a second lieutenant in the Army, where he spent seven years. Beckstead then transferred to the Army Reserve.
At Carson High School, he is well loved.
Tatiana Randall, a junior, had him for LL study skills.
"Mr. Beckstead was cool and funny, but really strict when it came to goofing off," she said. "We're really sad to see him go. I knew him before he was my teacher, so it really affected me."
"LL" stands for "Learning Lab," a set of classes that help students catch up to the level that they need to be at. This requires much one-on-one tutoring.
Glen Adair, principal of Carson High, couldn't agree more.
"He cared for the kids, and related to the students very well," he said. "On the one hand, we're sorry to see him go. On the other, we are very proud of his commitment to his country, and his willingness to support the values and traditions of our nation.
"We wish him well."
Adair said when Beckstead was hired, he was approved three times over.
"With the special-education classes, there is an agreement reached between the director of special education for this school, the local special-education coordinator and myself. We all choose as committee members, and we all approved of him."
Beckstead taught LL English, LL history, LL math, and LL study skills at Carson High School.
Hopefully, he will return and teach them again.