South Seneca Elementary Honors Area Veterans

Over forty area veterans and their families attended the second annual Veteran’s Day ceremony at South Seneca Elementary honoring their commitment to our country the day before Veteran’s Day. The Ovid VFW Color Guard presented the colors and the National Anthem was played by the SSES Band and sung by all. School Board President Mark Sinkiewicz opened the gathering with a warm welcome followed by an inspirational reading by fifth graders, Tria Backman-Lowe and Adam Wagner. Guest speaker, Eugene Carroll, a former U.S. Navy Seaman addressed the PreK-5th grade audience and explained that freedom isn’t free. A highlight of the morning was the playing of the Armed Forces March which included each service branches anthem. Veterans of each branch stood proudly as each song was played and received hearty applause. Holden Waid and Lucas Huff, fifth grade trumpet players, played taps to close the ceremony. Fifth graders then escorted each veteran to the band room for a reception. Many students brought family members who had served our country. The veterans and students mingled with many questions answered by the veterans about their military experience. Rebecca Davis, 4th and 5th grade band teacher and organizer of this event commented, “It is very important to the future of our country for our young children to understand that freedom is not free. We need to teach them that American Veterans and the troops currently serving our country made the decision to sacrifice years of their lives and even life itself to maintain the freedoms we experience in America. I believe our students learned that today.”