Site Administrator posted on December 06, 2010 19:55
This month found the school celebrating Veteran's Day. We wanted to honor all the heroes who have taken the time to protect our country. We started our day with a special worship together. I led off with the story of Desmond Doss, the amazing story of a young Seventh-day Adventist man who wanted to serve his country during WWII, but refused to carry a gun. They tried to kick him out of the army because of his peculiar beliefs. What a story and what a man! They eventually ended up bestowing on him the highest honor; the Medal of Honor. We watched a small clip of the movie the Conscientious Objector so we could get a feel for this brave man. We then made a list of brave heroes that we know of from the Bible. The names of Samson, David, Paul, Jesus, Moses, Abraham, and many others rang out from the children.
From that I moved onto heroes we have in our lives and I shared the story of my hero, my dad. He was a young Marine during WWII and served on the same island that Desmond Doss was on, Okinawa. It was here that my father first heard of Seventh-day Adventists, as he ran into a young boy that called himself "a seventh day boy." My dad never forgot that. While on that island my dad came across a young boy that had picked up a grenade and badly injured his hands and arms. He picked that young boy up, and carried him several miles to an aide station. My dad never considered himself a hero, but our family did. I am so proud of my dad!
Then it was time for the students to share about their families and their heroes. Hayden brought in some pictures, patches, and mementos from his family. Skyler was wearing part of his stepdad's marine uniform. Students got to compare the differences between the marine uniform in the 1940s, to what it looks like now. The upper grades went back to the classroom and then wrote thank you emails through the USO that would be forwarded to soldiers serving our country now. It was a great day. Jill Smuda, Principal