The Shadow
On November 8th Jeter-Watson Elementary School and Curtis A Smith VFW Post 1033 held their annual “thank you” program to honor all veterans in our area and beyond. VFW Post 1033 auxiliary members were present to support Bill Atherholt, post quartermaster.
The program opened with the presentation of flags by school members Alexa Coronado and Mason LaPrade. The national anthem was led by 5th grader Andrew Burns, Romania Jordan and Laura Snead.
Bill Atherholt opened the program with the question “What is a veteran”? A veteran is a person who served in the active military – Army, Air Force, Navy, Marines, Coast Guard and Space Force.
Atherholt also presented proper flag etiquette to the students. They were a very attentive audience.
A moment of silence was followed by a reading from 5th grader Chesney Wright. Patriotic music, under the direction of Kaitlyn Peters, was provided by the students – PK-2nd grade sang “You’re a Grand Old Flag”, 3rd-5th graders sang “Voices of America”.
Keynote speaker for the program was Sheriff Kyle Moore. The following is the speech he gave to the audience geared for the young students in attendance:
The word veteran means a person who has served in the military and was honorably discharged.
Actually, a Veteran is someone who is willing to serve for a purpose and protect that purpose. For most Veterans that means their country, their way of life, and religious freedom. Many times people get the word veteran confused with the word hero. A hero is someone who goes above what is normally expected of them. Someone who is willing to lay down their life for that purpose and many times they do.
Our country is what it is because of the sacrifices our veterans have made. Many of our veterans and many of your family members are veterans, having left home, not knowing whether they would return. Not knowing where they may end up in this world. Many of them volunteered for this
unknown. We are blessed in this community to have so many great veterans that have proudly served their country. They deserve our respect. Without our veterans we would not live in the same ways that we do today.
Our flag is what those veterans serve and fight for. The flag means more than a symbol that we salute or put our hands over our hearts when the national anthem is played. Our flag symbolizes freedom. The stripes represent the 13 colonies and the stars represent the 50 states of our country. The colors are symbols as follows: red stands for hardiness and valor and the blood that has been shed, white stands for purity and innocence, and the blue stands for vigilance, perseverance and justice.
I would like to ask you to stand and join me in celebrating every veteran that is present here today and, every family member that is not here today, that has served our country. Please tell them “thank you”.
Thank you for allowing me to speak today, it was truly an honor. God bless you, God bless Alleghany County and God bless America.
Cynthia Morgan, Jeter-Watson Principal, expressed how honored the school was to have everyone at the program and to remind the students what a veteran is and how brave they are. She also asked them to remember that being a good citizen means showing kindness and respect to others, just as veterans have shown their commitment and respect to our country. Mrs. Morgan asked the students if they see a veteran to say “Thank you for your service. We appreciate you”.
The program ended with the students singing of “This Land is Your Land” – a tribute to Bill Atherholt — followed by retreating of the colors.
It was an emotional program to help young students understand the importance of our veterans and it did just that.
