Written by EMILY GUEVARA eguevara@tylerpaper.com
With songs, speeches and praise, the Bell Elementary Global Communications Academy students celebrated veterans and the freedoms they have fought to keep for this country during a school-wide program on Monday.
“Veterans are very important to our lives,” one student said. “If it wasn’t for them, our country wouldn’t be free.”
The program included musical performances by the Bell Singers, a third- through fifth-grade choir, and the first-graders. Fourth-graders read letters they had written describing what a veteran is and what Veterans Day celebrates.
School Principal Dr. Keri Hampton said the goal of the program was to help the more than 450 students gain awareness and a knowledge base about what a veteran is.
State Rep. Matt Schaefer, a lieutenant commander in the U.S. Navy Reserve, helped to do that. Schaefer provided an object lesson for the students by showing them the clothes a soldier wears, the tools they carry and the food they eat.
Schaefer told the students that a veteran is someone who serves in the military to defend the country and its freedom against people who want to attack it and take it away.
“When someone attacks our country, we need someone to go overseas and defend our freedom,” he said.
“Can they go dressed like this?” said Schaefer, who was wearing jeans and a Tyler Junior College T-shirt.
“No!” the students shouted.
Schaefer proceeded to take off his boots and put on Army fatigues over his clothes. Although he is a Navy reservist, he served with the Army while he was deployed to Afghanistan in 2010.
His uniform included camouflage pants, a camouflage shirt and combat boots. He had several camouflage hats to choose from. He showed the students his fire-resistant gloves, his camouflage backpack, his dog tags and a Meal, Ready to Eat, or MRE.
He joked about how the Army loves Velcro because there is so much of it on the uniforms.
Schaefer showed the students by wearing a Navy T-shirt and baseball cap that when a military member returns home they might not wear the same uniform as they did overseas, but they are still a veteran.
“When you see someone like this who’s a veteran, what do you say to them?” he asked the students.
“Thank you,” they said loudly.
Following Schaefer’s presentation, the school recognized all who have served by singing “The Armed Forces Medley” and having veterans stand during their branch’s song.
Fourth-grader Madisyn Matlamela, 9, said the program was awesome.
“I liked how we all got to honor each … (branch) and made it such a big thing,” she said.She said she learned that “we should be grateful to have a free country (because) some people don’t.”
Fifth-grader Michelle Leal, 10, said the program was nice. “I liked how our veterans came here today and they took … (the) time to come to our school, and I liked honoring our veterans because they’re so nice for serving our country,” she said. She said she’s thankful to them for serving our country “because without them we wouldn’t be free.”
Vietnam veteran J.R. Wells, 66, attended the program with his daughter Aimee Green. His grandchildren, third-grader Gracie Green, 8, and fourth-grader Megan Green, 9, are Bell students who performed in the program.
Wells said it was a very good program the children put on and that Schaefer’s presentation was dynamic.
“I do appreciate (them) putting on (this) program for us,” he said of the students. “They practiced really hard.” He said it was a privilege and a duty to serve, and that he never hesitated to do his part.
Elmer Rogers, 40, who served in the U.S. Marines, attended the program to see his daughter, fourth-grader Tomyia Williams, 9.
“It was excellent,” Rogers said. “I loved it, watching the kids perform because she was in the choir.”
Will Norman, 52, who also served in the Marines, attended the program with his daughter, Cassie Davis, 30, to watch his grandchildren.
“It was so wonderful, something like this,” he said of the program. “For the young kids (to do this), it really does touch your heart.”
