McIver students told Be thankful to those who served

By John Peters
Editor

Third, fourth and fifth graders at McIver Elementary School got a bit of a living history and civics lesson last week when members of the American Legion Post 425 and the Post Auxiliary visited the school.

But, not before a little last minute scrambling by those on hand to address the students.

Helen Burtchell, a member of the Auxiliary who helped coordinate the time with the students Thursday, had to give an impromptu talk when some folks from the U.S. Army scheduled to be on hand for a demonstration were a last-minute cancellation.

And that seemed to work out just fine, because the students gave their undivided attention during the talk, and had more questions than time permitted afterward.

She started out by giving a little background information about the most recent major wars involving United States troops, including World War II, The Korean War, Vietnam, as well as the Persian Gulf war and the present conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.

She told the students World War II had been to stop two nations -– Germany and Japan -– who had attacked other countries and were intent upon controlling much of the world.

She explained the U.S. soldiers during the period -– who had to serve six years – fought to preserve freedoms of Americans and allies of the United States around the globe.

That effort – to preserve freedom -– has been the reason for every conflict since then, she said.

“There would be no freedom without the military,” she told the students and faculty gathered for the event.

She told the students that Veterans Day is a time to honor all of those men and women who have served in the U.S. Armed forces.

“In this country, we have to learn to say thank you to those who served,” she said. “And, you have to be willing to serve when you are old enough, so that your children can have the same freedom you have.”

The day’s program also included expressions of gratitude by those at McIver. The school’s Student Government Association recited a poem of thanks to the veterans and Post Auxiliary members at the school, and handed out small gifts to them at the end of the ceremony.

During the question and answer session, the students queries were dominated by their interest in numbers ----– how many battles were fought, how many served, and one question elicited a strong reply: During World War II, how many died?

“The number that died was too many,” she said, before adding comments that included all of the armed conflicts discussed during the day. “The numbers don’t really many anything. What matters is that people died. Always remember that. Too many.”