Staff Writer
PRESQUE ISLE – While they appreciated having Veterans Day off from school, Presque Isle High School students appreciated a recent visit with servicemen and women even more.
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PRESQUE ISLE HIGH SCHOOL hosted “Honoring Our Servicemen and Women” Nov. 10. The program featured a welcoming ceremony in the gymnasium with the student body, the band and chorus, a color guard, and a keynote address given by Brig. Gen. Brent Boyles (Class of 1975). Then the 56 veterans who attended the program visited the classrooms and spoke to the students in two 20-minute blocks. The last time the school hosted such an event was more than 10 years ago.
“Honoring Our Servicemen and Women” was held the day before Veterans Day at PIHS.
According to LeRae Kinney, event organizer and social studies department chair, the program featured a welcoming ceremony in the gymnasium with the student body, the band and chorus, a color guard, and a keynote address given by Brig. Gen. Brent Boyles (Class of 1975).
The students then returned to their homerooms and each class was visited twice by one or more veteran who talked about their experiences in the military.
“The program came about as a result of a social studies department meeting,” said Kinney. “As the department, we feel compelled to be the one to do Veterans Day activities; we certainly address it every year in our classrooms and we teach about all of the wars, but we felt it was time to do something more.
“It was very well received when it was last done 11 or 12 years ago, so we thought the timing was right,” she said. “We’re a country at war, and those veterans need to be recognized.”
Fifty-six veterans attended the program and spoke to the students.
“We had veterans who served in World War II, Korea, Vietnam, Desert Storm, the current war in Iraq and Afghanistan,” Kinney said. “Our youngest veteran was 22 and our oldest was 91. We had every aspect covered … POWs, foot soldiers, pilots, medics, nurses … it was a great representation of our Armed Forces.”
Kinney said the only complaint she received about the program was from the students and faculty.
“They wished that we would have had more time because we only had two 20-minute blocks,” she said. “They wished the program could have been longer and that they could have heard from more than two veterans. Those are wonderful complaints.”
Kinney said she’s glad she didn’t have any formal lesson plans set for that afternoon.
“All the kids wanted to talk about was Veterans Day and the importance of the morning,” she said. “They were very eager to share the stories that they had heard that morning and the experience that they had. I had them do a reflective writing piece about what they gained from the experience, and it seemed to reach the students across the board. I think a lot of them realized that it’s more than just a day off.
“This is a great age to do this because some of them are headed toward military life and it gives them a better understanding of what it’s all about and an appreciation for the people who are abroad and risking their lives for our freedom,” said Kinney. “It’s one thing to understand the history of why we do it, but to actually hear the stories from the people who have been there and done that is something that I can’t provide for my students. No video or textbook can offer that; it’s something that only these veterans can offer and I’m thrilled we had such a good response.”
Veterans Day means a lot to sophomore Dannielle Gagnon as her father recently served in Iraq.
“The program made me get a little teary-eyed. I almost started crying during the ceremony because it brought back all the memories because my father’s been in the military since he was 18,” she said. “He went over in 2006 and got back March 2007, and it was pretty difficult.
“I thought it was really successful because not very many people realize how much the veterans have done for us and how much they’ve sacrificed for us,” said Gagnon. “I liked hearing about their experiences. One of the veterans had served two tours in Iraq, while another veteran was in the Vietnam War. It was interesting to hear what they had to say.”
Senior Hannah Cheney said the ceremony was great and she got a lot out of it.
“I think all the veterans really enjoyed being there sharing their stories,” she said. “I think it opened up the eyes of people who were there, especially the students. We haven’t had anything like this since we’ve been in school, so it was a special occasion.”
Cheney, too, has family connections with the military.
“My grandfather fought in Vietnam, my father is going again to Iraq in January, and my brother’s in the National Guard,” she said. “This ceremony hit a little closer to home than for some students, and Veterans Day itself might mean a little bit more to me than it might to someone else.
“I hope they do something like this again,” said Cheney. “The veterans deserve the recognition … they fought for our freedoms so why not give them the praise and support they deserve?”
While organizing the celebration was “a huge undertaking,” Kinney said it was worth it.
“We’ll definitely do something next year,” she said, “we’re just not sure to what extent. We’d like to have a big assembly like this at least once every four years so the kids can have this experience once in their high school career.”
Veterans participating in the event included John Wallace, Debbie Hoyt, Earl McGrath, Lionel Lavoie, Don Embleton, Lester DuBois, Asa Cook, Rudi Buitron, Brent Boyles, Maurine “Cuppy” Johndro, Scott Morgan, Danny Churchill, Josh Way, Dick Engels, Bill Bergen, Father Ray Morency, Steve Deabay, Chris Haskell, Fred “Skip” Ripley, Dean Raunch, Joseph Foley, Hazen Gartley, Dave Berry, Mac McLaughlin, Jeff, Celia and Denise Chapman, Dalton Tibbetts, Milford Long and Peter Meisberger.
Also, Doug Michaud, Max Johnston, Ken Peters, Lynwood Monteith, Melanie Junkins, Gerald Soucy, John Cancelarich, Stan Jandreau, Herbert Gardiner, John DeVeau, Andrew Kinney, George Berube, Flo Berube, Don Pelkey, Christine Pelkey, Robbie McIntosh, Mike Willette, Jim Berry, Brian Blanchard, Dave Sowers, Joe Lallande, Shane Kavin, Darren LaPlante, Steve Thimmlar, Ray Hildebrand and Charlie Smith.
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STUDENTS at Presque Isle High School listen to Richard Engels, who served in Vietnam, during a recent celebration to honor local servicemen and women. Engels was one of 56 veterans who spoke to the students during the Nov. 10 event.
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WILLIAM BERGEN shares stories with Presque Isle High School students during the “Honoring Our Servicemen and Women” event that was held Nov. 10 at the school. Recognizing that the United States is a country at war, organizers of the celebration said this was a perfect time to honor the veterans. Fifty-six veterans spoke to different classrooms during the morning giving the students some insight into what life in the military is like.
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MAUREEN “CUPPY” JOHNDRO was one of the 56 veterans who spoke to students at Presque Isle High School recently about her experiences in the U.S. military. The veteran’s visit was part of “Honoring Our Servicemen and Women,” an event organized by the school’s social studies department.
