Karns City school to honor service men and women Nov. 10
Through music, food and camaraderie, students of Karns City Area Jr./Sr. High School are pulling out all the stops to recognize servicemen and servicewomen for Veterans Day.
The Veterans Day Luncheon and Assembly extends an opportunity for past and present members of the armed forces to be saluted for their service, according to Amanda Walters, band director and event organizer.
“It’s to honor the men and women who gave their lives and time to serve the United States and to educate the young students about what it meant for them to do that,” she said.
The event, set for Nov. 10, takes three months of preparation, Walters said, and will include a lunch in the school library at noon, followed by a presentation by students and faculty.
“The choir will sing the ‘The Star Spangled Banner,’ the concert band will perform ‘Marches of the Armed Forces,’ and that’s a big thing. Members of each branch will stand for their march,” she said.
Larry J. Rettig, a former Army staff sergeant with 21 years of experience, will be the featured speaker, and members of the Marine Corps will perform a flag-folding ceremony.
Walters added that the assembly also will honor her stepgrandfather, World War II Army veteran Don Spohn, who turns 97 this month.
“He was drafted, but rejected because of his eyesight, then drafted again, and rejected again,” Walters said. “Then the third time, they accepted him. He went in in 1945 and was stationed in Okinawa until Dec. 9, 1946.”
Walters said previous students have seen the value in the assembly’s traditions.
“They enjoy seeing the veterans; it puts it closer to home for them instead of just talking about them,” she said.
Veterans interested in attending the assembly should contact Walters via email at awalters@kcasdk12.org or call 724-841-4296 by Nov.1.
The lunch begins at noon Nov. 10 in the library at the high school, 1446 Kittanning Pike, Karns City. The assembly follows at 1 p.m. in the school gym.
