Christian school salutes veterans
JEFFERSON TWP — A ceremony to thank veterans Tuesday at HIS Kids Christian School, 650 Saxonburg Road, was a family affair.
Veterans were invited to the event by their children and grandchildren who attend the school.
The student body of kindergartners through sixth graders recited the Pledge of Allegiance along with the veterans, listened to the “Missing Man” speech, and serenaded their guests with their version of Lee Greenwood's “Proud to Be an American.”
Students also presented their invitees with homemade thank-you cards.
Rich Mannas of Butler, a Marine veteran, said he was invited by his granddaughter.
Mannas said, “I'm very thankful for the kids to remember. History unlearned is often forgotten.”
Amanda Galvan of Saxonburg, an Air Force veteran, was invited by her daughter. “It is good to see appreciation through young children's eyes and the admiration,” Galvan said.
The event was outside on the school's back parking lot because of COVID-19 concerns.
Jeffrey Smith of Butler, a 14-year veteran with the Army, said Tuesday was the third time he's attended the school's event.
“It's a solemn day for me,” said Smith. “We say happy Veterans Day, and we want everybody to be happy, but it's a solemn day to me.”
The solemnity of the occasion was reinforced when Tina Perfors of Saxonburg, the commander of American Legion Post 683 and a Navy veteran, read the “Missing Man” speech.
“We are ever mindful that the sweetness of peace is bought with the bitterness of personal sacrifice, pain, deprivation and imprisonment of our POWs and MIAs,” Perfors said, gesturing to a table with a single chair.
She listed the elements of the “Missing Man” table: the tablecloth is white, symbolizing the purity of their motives in answering the call to serve, while a single red rose marks the lives of these Americans and the loved ones who keep faith while seeking answers. A lemon slice on a plate stands for the bitter fate of those captured or missing in a foreign land, while a lighted candle marks the hope for their return. An inverted glass symbolizes their inability to share in a toast.
“The chair is empty — they are missing,” Perfors concluded.
Suzanne Adams, the Christian school's music teacher, said the student body sings “Proud to Be an American” every year at the veterans' ceremony.The students rehearse the song for three to four weeks. Adams adds some choreography.“It helps them remember the words,” she said.Principal Carol Novy, who led the assembled crowd in prayer, said it was important to continue the event.“I think because our children don't recognize the freedoms they have, and how those freedoms came to be,” said Novy.“This puts a face to those freedoms,” she said. “This is an opportunity to invite them to this and another way to say thanks.”
