This past week, on Veterans Day, my wife and I attended the Veterans Day program at 1 p.m. at the Fillmore Central Elementary School in Preston.
We both had the honor of observing something special.
As the Fillmore Central students from second grade through sixth grade gathered in the large gymnasium of the school, they were blessed with the presence of the color guard from the Preston VFW/American Legion along with the Preston VFW Ladies Auxiliary.
Dressed in their uniforms while presenting the U.S. Flag, these men and women were there to help our youth understand the importance of honoring those who have served their country.
As my wife and I spoke about the event during supper that Friday night, we told our kids they were lucky to live in such a great community.
The schools collaborate with our local veterans for a presentation that teaches our youth to understand what it means to be a veteran, how to honor veterans, and how to honor our U.S. Flag. This ceremony encourages patriotism with the singing of the “National Anthem”, “The Battle Hymn of the Republic” and “God Bless the U.S.A.”. And, following “Some Gave All” sung by Ron Scheevel (originally Billy Ray Cyrus), Jim Pickett played “TAPS” before the retiring of the U.S. Flag.
And, during the ceremony, a select few sixth grade students were asked to read aloud a report they had each written to reflect on veterans and Veterans Day.
And, here are their stories.
What Veterans Day means to me
By Madelyn Bergey
“This nation will remain the land of the free only so long as it is the home of the brave.” To me, this quote means this country will be free as long as we still have those brave soldiers willing to go out and fight for us. November 11 is a very important date to the United States. It means honoring those courageous soldiers who have served or are serving. The men and women that serve are very brave and kind-hearted.
They leave so much behind in order to fight for us. Veterans often times miss very important dates in their personal life such as anniversaries, holidays, birthdays, and so much more. Those that serve never know if it could be the last time they say ‘I love you’ and ‘Goodbye’ to their family. They don’t know if they’ll ever return to their home. When you think of our rights and freedom, as United States citizens, you should think of the people who let us have that freedom and those rights- the soldiers. When you look at the colors on our flag you should think of the perseverance, justice, and innocence that the soldiers had during war.
There is a reason that we sing the Star Spangled Banner and say The Pledge of Allegiance. We sing and pledge to show that we are united. To show that our country will stand together as one, as a whole, through the good and bad times. It explains that we care about our country, our rights, our freedom, and our soldiers, the ones who protect us. It also shows that we will take pride in our beautiful country that is free and protected.
We need to thank our amazing soldiers more than we do. They deserve more than they often times get from the people that they save and protect. Remember to thank veterans, not only today, but every day.
My favorite veteran
By Jake Fishbaugher
I am proud to say that I have two great grandpas that served in the military. My great-grandpa Fishbaugher was even a POW and was honored with a Purple Heart. However, the veteran I am most excited about is my brother, Alex. Since fourth grade, I have been waiting to write the Veterans Day essay so I could talk about my brother, Alex.
My brother, Alex, has been in the Army for two and a half years. He joined right after he graduated from high school. Originally he wanted to go into the Air Force. After meeting with the recruiters he decided to go into the Army. Alex is part of the 82nd Airborne. This means that he jumps out of planes. If he were in a war situation he would jump into an area to make sure it is safe before anyone else enters. Since he has joined the Army he has done eighteen jumps training for this type of situations. The highest he has jumped from is 1,250 feet. He is also a machine gunner. He carries a large machine gun and is part of the entry team that would enter buildings or towns and clear them to make sure they are safe before anyone else in his unit would enter. Just this last week he received the Expert Infantry Badge. This means he will be able to train soldiers to be experts in infantry. He is also a team leader. He is in charge of keeping four men on his team in shape and trained to do their job. He is their brother and keeps them safe.
He only gets to comes home two or three times a year. The first time he came home I was in fourth grade. Alex came home two days early and surprised me at school. When he is home, I will do whatever Alex wants to do has long as it means I get to spend time with him. But he has a lot of people he wants to spend time with, so I take whatever I can get.
I am very proud of my brother Alex and all the veterans for what they sacrifice every day to keep us safe by serving our country. We are blessed to live in a country with so many people who have given their youth and sometimes their lives to keep us safe. Not only on Veterans Day, but every day of the year, we should take every opportunity to thank our veterans for all they have done for us. Thank you veterans.
What Veterans Day means to me
By Adrik Nevalainen
Think about a time your grandpa or grandma has done something to serve our country. Maybe they fought in a devastating battle, maybe they courageously flew a plane over the Pacific Ocean where they could get shot down, or maybe they were stuck behind enemy lines and had to go on a risky path back to our side. All of these things are what a veteran does to serve his or her country. So, when do we celebrate these brave veterans…………….on Veterans Day!
When I think about what Veterans Day means to me, I think about a lot of things. I think of veterans, I think about memories, I think about some of my family members that been a veteran, and sometimes I think of veterans in my neighborhood. But most of the time I think of my family members that have been in a war. So when I think on what Veterans Day means to me, I think about my family members.
In my family, I had a great-great-great grandpa who was a Union soldier who fought in the great American Civil War. He was stationed in Louisiana to protect the Mississippi Delta from the Confederates. I had a Great-grandpa Smalley who fought in World War II in the rainy jungles of Iwo Jima Pacific. He was one of the few brave soldiers that survived that horrifying battle, and he would get mad if you asked him about on what happened to his squad. My other great grandpa also fought in World War II at the Battle of the Bulge in Belgium, Europe. At that battle, my great-grandpa was stuck behind enemy lines, and he had to courageously run through them, then reach our lines. He did make it, but yet he was one out of the few who survived that battle between the Germans and the United States. My uncle, Justin Johnson fought in the the blazing sun in Iraq War in the Middle East. He was there for a year and he served our country as a veteran. My Dad was also a veteran. He was in the Air-Force stationed at the roaring waves of Hawaii. He didn’t fight in a war, but he is still a veteran.
Celebrating Veterans Day is a great thing to do, even when you don’t know anyone in your family that’s a veteran. You should always think on what they have done for you. If it weren’t for them, I wouldn’t have the same freedoms I have today. So, when I think about Veterans Day I think about how honored I am to be in a country with great veterans, and a family that has served in a wars, and that is what Veterans Day means to me.
My favorite veteran
By Olivia Sethre
For Veterans Day I got to write a report about either my favorite veteran or what Veterans Day means to me. I chose my favorite veteran, because there are so many veterans in the world who all did amazing things, and I decided at least one of them needed to be recognized today.
My favorite veteran is my Grandpa Reiter. When he was in the Army, he fought in Vietnam from 1968 to 1969. My grandpa rode in tanks and went on search and destroy missions. He also went on ambush patrols. The soldiers that rode in those tanks carried not people, but weapons like grenades and other explosives.
In his first two to three months in the war, he did not go on many ambush patrols. When he did go on ambush patrols, he went on them about four to five nights a week. One day, he was called to an ambush patrol at three o’clock in the morning. His tank hit a landmine, and the tracks of the tank blew apart, creating a huge crater in the tank. Luckily my grandpa survived; however he did suffer from a wounded jaw and a concussion which made his ears bleed. He won a Purple Heart from that incident. Now, he is a retired veteran with an amazing story.
This is why I chose to do this report about my favorite veteran. I feel like all veterans need to be recognized whether they fought in a long, rough battle or if they joined the armed forces, but never fought. I hope everyone will recognize those who fought or those who didn’t. They may have fought in a war or maybe they have not, but they are all veterans who helped this country in one way or another.
My favorite veterans
By Madison Simon
Veterans Day is a time to celebrate people who have served for our country. I am very thankful for anybody who has served, trained, or helped our country. Every veteran has to give up their family, jobs, hobbies, and much more.
My favorite veterans are Tim and Eric Ostrom. They are brothers who both served in the military. I know Tim because he was my third grade teacher. He was one of my favorite teachers. I wish could go back to third grade. I know Eric from my parents. He was a good person. He died helping someone. I think they are both wonderful people. Tim was in Germany preparing for war, and Eric was in the war Desert Storm.
Before the war, they were training in Fort Sill, Okla. In their training, they had to learn to be disciplined, learn things like hand-to-hand combat, how to fire their weapons, first aid, and to be able to work as a team with people they didn’t know at all. Being away from family was very hard for them.
In Germany, Tim was guarding their base and training. In training he would learn how to use his weapons and learn how to drive and shoot a tank. Tim would spend weeks at a time in the field preparing for war.
Eric was fighting for our country in the war, Desert Storm. He was in Saudi Arabia fighting against Saddam Hussein’s soldiers. He was part of a unit that shot rockets from a tank. The war didn’t last so long because our soldiers were so well prepared. Eric saw lots of gruesome things that he did not want to talk about.
I am very thankful for them and for all veterans, because our country would not be what it is today without veterans. I think everybody should support and celebrate Veterans Day!
What Veterans Day means to me
By Jenna Tieskotter
What are veterans? Veterans can be any person that has served in the military. Veterans Day is made to honor all the people that have fought for our country and our freedom. So what pops in your head when you hear the words Veteran’s Day? What does it mean to you?
To me Veterans Day means that we should honor all the veterans that served. Whether it’s a man or a women, or if it’s someone who’s passed away. We should thank all veterans who fought for our country. It is a day made to honor all the veterans that have served or are serving this very moment.
Think about the red and white stripes on our flag and the blue corner with the 50 stars on it. Our flag wouldn’t be here today standing tall and proud if it weren’t for all the veterans out there. On Veterans Day we should celebrate our country’s freedom. If you know a veteran go tell them thank you, smile at them. We should be thankful for all the veterans out there and how they fought or served for our country and it’s freedom.
Veterans Day makes me think about all the wars and bombing that’s happened and about all the veterans that have died serving for our country. Think about all the veterans that fought for our freedom and our rights. All those people deserve to be thanked because they risked their lives for our freedom. We should be proud that our country is a free country.
I would like to thank all the veterans out there for serving our country and helping us stay free. It makes me feel safe and very proud to know that so many people are willing to risk their lives and sacrifice so much time away from their families.That is what Veterans Day means to me.
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