We Love Our Veterans!

Principal Michael Cunzio welcomed the audience of students, teachers, veterans and their families, members of the Board of Education and district staff, saying, “Oral history is a unique and important part of our students’ education. There is no way for us to replicate what they are able to learn from the veterans here with us today. When we speak to students later in their Mount Pleasant career, they often share that this was one of their best elementary school memories.”

Representatives from the five branches of the armed services - Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, and Coast Guard were in attendance. The group consisted of parents, grandparents, uncles, neighbors, one of our custodians, and five of our bus drivers!

The school-wide event was once again organized by 5th grade teacher Christine Galbo, whose father served in Vietnam. The day kicked off with a PTA-sponsored breakfast which was an opportunity for students to interview a veteran and learn about his or her life. Vets were then escorted to individual classrooms to share more stories and photographs, maps, and the clothing they wore while serving.

The highlights of the ceremony included the presentation of the colors by Cub Scouts Hawthorne Pack 1, the Pledge of Allegiance and “Star-Spangled Banner” led by the Columbus Troubadours and the “Armed Forces Medley” performed by the Columbus Honor Band. Another tradition that has become an annual schoolwide favorite is the Penny Wars. This year the student council raised $2,106 through classroom collections which will be donated to the veterans food pantry.

Next, a slideshow put together by Mrs. Galbo of pictures of the veterans from their days in the service was displayed on the gym wall for all to enjoy. Then, as part of a New York State program called Operation Recognition, which allows a school district to grant a high school diploma to veterans who have an honorable discharge certificate and who left school before they reached graduation, four veterans were presented with honorary Westlake High School diplomas by WHS Principal Keith Schenker.

Finally, members of Hawthorne Girl Scout Troop 1 dramatically set “America’s White Table. Since the Vietnam War, the “Remembrance Table” has been a feature of most formal dining ceremonies on military bases and in banquet halls around the world to remember those who did not come home. It includes a white cloth, a lemon slice, grains of salt, a black napkin, an empty glass, a white candle, a red rose, and an empty chair—symbols of a soldier’s pure heart, tears of loved ones, the sorrow of captivity, those who are missing, and hope for their return.

It was an another emotional and heart-warming ceremony that was thoroughly enjoyed by all in attendance. Master of ceremonies, Columbus physical education teacher Sean Mayer closed the ceremony with words of thanks to all, “It is frequently said, ‘Tell me and I will forget. Show me and I will remember. Involve me and I will understand.’ Thank you, veterans, for involving our students so they can understand.”