Manual students and faculty gathered in the Manual auditorium to honor Manual veterans during the Past Present Alliance’s (PPA) second annual Veteran’s Day presentation on Thursday, Nov. 11.
After PPA member Zoe Cardwell-Copenhefer (11, HSU) opened the ceremony with the Pledge of Allegiance, Christella Philippe (11, YPAS) sang the national anthem.
Guest speaker Mr. David Richards (Math) discussed his ten-year service and his recent six-year re-enrollment.
PPA member Emma Badia (11, HSU) then read poet Edgar Guest’s poem The Things That Make a Soldier Great.
Emily Hu (11, HSU) presented Jennifer Groseth (Design & Production), Mr. Curtis Wright (YPAS Custodian), Ms. Nalia Bauer (YPAS Coordinator), Mr. Glenn Zwanzig (Science), Mr. James Garrett (Social Studies), Mr. John Krysinski (Computer), Mr. Christian Jensen (Math) and Mr. David Richards (Math) with a certificate for their service to the United States.
Bauer told the audience about the experiences she had while serving in the Air Force from 2000 to 2004 and while on active-duty in Iraq. Bauer said that her decision to enlist in the military was a result of her fatigue with school. Garrett spoke about his experiences in the Vietnam War, including his personal feelings about history. After concluding his speech and walking off stage, Garrett received a standing ovation from the audience.
[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/176433788?secret_token=s-Cziqf” params=”auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&visual=true” width=”100%” height=”450″ iframe=”true” /]Krysinski invited the audience to stop by room 113 to donate money to the United States Organization (USO).
Richards spoke again after receiving his certificate and said he would be happy to answer further questions about the benefits of joining the military in his room, room 232B.
Groseth, Wright, and Jensen did not attend the ceremony.
Hu ended the ceremony by thanking all of Manual’s veterans and asking the audience to thank veterans every day.
The program began around 9:30 a.m. and lasted for approximately 40 minutes.
Attendance at the Veteran’s Day presentation was up from last year, but PPA advisor Mr. Richard Sharp (Social Studies) said he hopes the event will continue to grow. According to Hu, the PPA struggled to inform YPAS students and teachers about the presentation.
“Some of them [the veteran Manual teachers] went on to say that Veteran’s Day should be more of an every day thing because you should protect the people that protect you everyday, not just on one day… Normally, I recognize them [veterans] when I see them in public and remember what all they have done for us so far. I will do better to thank them more though,” said Logan Jelsma (10, MST).
