Written by Calvin Jackson, Melanie Corretti, Sophie Muce
Photos by Amber Vuillimier, Tejas Patel, Riley Thomas
Video edited and filmed by Zach Corbett
[wpvideo 70HehKNi]
On November 11th, 2015, The Morgan School hosted the annual Veterans Day Assembly. Veterans and their families were invited to attend the assembly. Many family members of students who have served came to the event. During the assembly, Assistant Principal Tyler Webb invited the veterans to speak.
Veteran Dave Moore gave tribute to the military spouses “A spouse does not wear a uniform, yet they serve their country. Never forget the military spouses”
At the assembly, a WWII veteran spoke about when he found out that the Japanese surrendered. He recalled going to a show “‘The Japanese had surrendered.’ And that was the whole show. We were so happy.”
A veteran attended that was a Morgan Alumni of 2004. He spoke in regards to when people thank him for his service. “After 11 years of people saying ‘thank you’ to me, I still don’t know how to respond.”
Veteran Don shared, “Veterans don’t ask for much; all they ask for is understanding.”
Another veteran to speak at the podium said that his father could not attend the assembly, but he spoke about how “the biggest lesson I learned from my dad was brotherhood.”
A student who attends The Morgan School, Junior Joseph Buffington, gave a speech about what it is like to be the child of a soldier. His father served in the air force for twenty two years. Because of this, Joseph and his family had to move six times to places all around the world such as Japan and Germany.
Although some people wouldn’t enjoy being in the situation that Joseph was in, he made the best of it. He enjoyed learning about new cultures and living in different environments. Along the way, his father taught him valuable lessons that he would not have learned otherwise.
The veterans were given a luncheon in the library during E period. The food was prepared and served by the culinary students of Consumer Science Teacher Joanne Nunan. Freshman Course Teacher/English Teacher Amanda Fairbanks had her E period freshmen formulate questions to ask the veterans at the luncheon. “Where were you stationed?” and “Did you pull any pranks on your fellow soldiers?” as well as “How did your service impact your life?” and “What advice can you give to people who want to join the military?”
One question, in particular, that seemed to sparked interest was, “What is your favorite memory?” Veterans appeared to light up when recalling their most cherished time that they encountered when serving our country. One of the most common answers given was that they were able to travel the world for free. An older veteran shared with us that he visited every country along the coastline in South and Central America, along with the majority of the African coastline. He explained that this was special because he took in the culture of the people that were native to the area. Another common answer to that question was that they loved that they were able to make and build new friendships with fellow soldiers. A lot of the veterans said that they stay in touch with the friends that they made when in the service. Some attend reunions once a year and recollect by sharing stories of the past with each other. Other veterans commented that they use social media, such as Facebook, and email to keep in close touch with their friends that they made from the service.
On behalf of the Morgan PawPrint, we would like to thank the veterans for not just sharing their day with our school in the assembly, but especially for their service that they have given to our country in order to protect us all.
