Friday, November 09, 2007

Take a Veteran to School Day

Today was a pretty cool day. In honor of Veteran's Day which is coming up on Sunday, our school had it's Take a Veteran to School Day picnic. Preceding that picnic, the kids throughout the school had different speakers come into their classrooms. There were Veterans from all different eras, both men and women. WWII, Korean, Vietnam vets, and of course the halls were filled with the regular parents who are currently serving. Our school is a military school so the kids that attend know full well the affect of having loved ones in the service. It was neat to hear the stories of those from our military past but honestly the most impressive thing to me about today was how every single speaker thanked the boys and girls. They acknowledged their sacrifice. I think sometimes the kids of our servicemembers are overlooked. But they too sacrifice so much. I wanted to cry on several occasions when different questions were asked. "How many of your moms and dads have been to Iraq?", the majority of the little hands shot up. "How many of your moms and dads will be gone for Thanksgiving?", even more hands shot up. That is quite a visual at the sacrifice that military families endure when our nation is at war.
The amount of pride on these young children is amazing, the shirts, buttons, dogtags they wear. They are so proud to say, My Mommy or Daddy is a Soldier. Yes, we miss our mom or dad but they have a job to do. So much understanding at such a young age.
Those of us who have served were also honored with a free lunch. The lunch bags were decorated by the kids, they were adorable. We were also given free bracelets and a cute litte duck wearing military gear. The whole event was hosted by Time Warner Cable and the History Channel. Very, very neat, I am so honored that my kids attend a school where they do honor those who serve and have served. Our administration is filled with Veterans of all services. It's nice to have those who understand the lifestyle our kids live. The school is supposed to be in the news tonight, once I see the story, I'll find it online and link to it here.
I have to say I have always been proud to have served in the Army myself, but today I am so proud of my children who truly serve in the Silent Ranks. Often we hear about military spouses as the Silent Ranks (but seriously how many Army Wives have YOU met who are truly silent, lol). I think the Silent Ranks are made up by the children who endure quietly.
Thank you to Our Veterans and Thank you to our children, the littlest veterans who serve and sacrifice greatly!

1 comment:

M said...

That's pretty cool! Last week, I told my Sunday school class that we wouldn't meet next week because of Veteran's Day, and they ALL asked me what that meant. I was in shock, especially since it is a chapel on a military post overseas where almost all of their parents are deployed! I am definitely working something about it into our lesson next week when we meet again. I was so surprised!