Community Corner

Fort Lee Students Honor Veterans at School Ceremony

The Veterans Day celebration was Monday at Fort Lee School No. 2 and included music, singing and a group of local veterans of various foreign wars, who spoke with the students about the meaning of the holiday.

Students at Fort Lee School No. 2 commemorated Veterans Day Monday with a ceremony to honor our country’s veterans.

School No. 2 Music teacher Beverly Delaney worked with fifth and sixth grade students to prepare a special program, according to principal Marianela Martin, and Randi Raskin, a parent, took pictures and wrote the following article for publication on Patch:

Veterans Day Celebration at School #2

By Randi Raskin

Find out what's happening in Fort Leewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Continuing a tradition, which began three years ago, the fifth and sixth grade students at School #2 presented a Veterans Day program to the members of the Fort Lee Veterans of Foreign Wars Post #2342 on Monday afternoon, Nov. 12, 2012. 

Because of the balmy weather conditions, the assembly was held in the outdoor amphitheater at the entrance to the school on Jones Road.

Find out what's happening in Fort Leewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The program was kicked off at 1 p.m. by two of the students who welcomed the veterans, teachers and students and proclaimed the purpose of the program was to celebrate the veterans who fought for our country and to thank them for their bravery and sacrifices.

They then invited the Color Guard to advance to the center. Mrs. Beverly Delaney, School #2 Music Specialist, asked everyone to stand and join in reciting the Pledge of Allegiance and singing the National Anthem.

Mrs. Marianela Martin, principal of School #2, welcomed the veterans and thanked them for their service to our country. She noted that many of the students, just as herself, were not born in the U.S., and that the ceremony was a great opportunity for them to learn more about the sacrifice that so many have made to preserve the freedoms they now enjoy. 

Six of the students then recited the verses of a Veterans Day poem by Cheryl Dyson, which spoke of honoring those who fought for freedom and for our rights, expressing our pride in them and our thanks.

Next, Mrs. Delaney invited VFW Post Commander James Viola to address the students on the meaning of Veterans Day. He explained how this day is set aside to honor all who have served in the Armed Forces of the United States, and yet the veterans also take a moment to remember their fallen comrades because we never leave them behind.

The microphone was then passed among the veterans present, each of whom told the students in which branch of the armed forces and in which wars and locations they served.  They included veterans of World War II, the Korean War, Vietnam and Operation Iraqi Freedom. All spoke of their pride in serving their country, and the students were given an opportunity to see and hear these brave servicemen who fought in those wars to preserve their country and its legacy of freedom.

After that, the students all joined in singing a song written especially for Veterans Day called “Free Like Me.” Mrs. Martin thanked Mrs. Delaney, the fifth and sixth graders, their teachers and especially the veterans who came to be honored. Finally, she invited everyone to join in singing the finale, “You’re A Grand Old Flag.”


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