WORLDS APART, YET CONNECTED

Nantucket's Jay McCarthy, above, with Iraqi children wearing T-shirts from Nantucket sent

to the troops in September. More than 2,000 shirts were gathered by McCarthy's friends Kara Marelli and Evie O'Connor after McCarthy's deployment was extended by four months

just as he was about to be transferred to Alaska in August. The girls started with a goal of 1,000 shirts, but the effort was so well supported they kept going for more. McCarthy, 21, is a member of the 172nd Stryker Brigade and has been in Iraq for more than a year. Marelli said McCarthy's extension is over and he should be in Alaska within the next three or four

days. On Dec. 16 he will fly to Boston where he and Marelli will finally enjoy their

long-awaited reunion. "I'm very excited to see him," she said yesterday.