Brooke High School
Winner: Morgan Boocks

Veterans

The veteran I chose to interview happens to be my father. He served in the Army for 20 years as a Field Medic. He began basic training in 1986 at Fort Know, and in the same year he started his Advanced Individual Training to be a medic. He graduated in October of 1986. During his twenty years in the Military he was stationed in places such as Nuremberg and Baumholder, Germany; Ft. Campbell, Kentucky; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Ft. Lewis, Washington; and Schofield Barracks, Hawaii. In addition to his many duty stations he was also deployed to Kuwait and Bosnia in 1995, Iraq in 2003, and Kuwait again in 2004. He retired in 2006, after 20 years of service.

Through the years of watching my dad in the military I have learned and seen first hand the sacrifices that both the soldiers and their families make. Not only they have to live away from the home where they were raised, but also are separated from all of their loved ones. I have learned that it takes selfless and brave people to put their lives on the line to keep our country safe and give us all the privileges we take for granted everyday.

When I ask my father if he would do it all over again, he said, “Yes,” without any hesitation. He said he was proud of his service to his country. He said his time in the military gave him many opportunities that he would have never had otherwise.

I am very proud of my father and all that he has sacrificed for not only my family, but for our country. Seeing what he has done has inspired me in so many ways that I actually plan on going the military once I graduate from high school. I am so grateful for all of our veterans that have served this country, for without them, we would not have the freedoms we do. 

East Fairmont High School
Winner: Samantha Denham

I recently had the opportunity to sit down and talk with WWII veteran, Frank Angotti. Born on November 21, 1921, Mr. Angotti will be celebrating his 90^th birthday in less than one month. Sitting across the table from this handsome, vibrant and engaging man, I listened to him talk of his remarkable life. I was fascinated, enlightened and moved.

Frank was the second child of six, born to Italian immigrants. His parents could not read or write, but stressed the importance of education to their children. Frank proudly states that, “five of the six Angotti children pursued higher education.”

Growing up in Weston, West Virginia during The Great Depression, Frank describes his family as being “very poor”. However, the Angottis raised a garden and kept livestock so “there was always good food to eat”. Everyone, including young Frank and his siblings, had to work hard in order to support the family but, said Frank casually, “that was what had to be done.”

After graduating from high school, Frank attended a local business school for about seven months. Then, in October of 1942, he was drafted into the United States Army. Frank was 20 years old.

Taking a streetcar from Weston to Clarksburg, Frank boarded a train headed for Fort Thomas, Kentucky. After being inducted into the army at Fort Thomas, he was sent to Aberdeen, Maryland for basic training. The clerical and typing skills that Frank had acquired in business school were noticed and he was sent to Georgetown University’s Army Specialized Training Program, as well as administrative school in Chicago. After completing the programs, he was off to Fort Pickett, Virginia where he joined the 344^th Ordnance Depot. From there, Frank Angotti departed the United States to join the war effort overseas.

The job of the 3444^th Ordnance Dept was to supply the armored divisions in Germany and France with motors, gun tubes and armaments. A mobile unit, the 344^th was constantly on the move. By June of 1944, the young man from Weston, West Virginia would find himself on the beaches of Normandy, France.

Frank’s older brother Mike was drafted into the army in September of 1942, just a month before Frank was drafted. Mike Angotti was part of the Allied Forces that landed on Omaha Beach in Normandy on June 6, 1944. Frank’s unit landed on Utah Beach on June 18, 1994. Frank describes the experience as feeling “now like a dream.” Nine of Frank’s friends were killed and eighteen were wounded. The soldiers dug trenches for safety and were always moving. “We dug holes, fired our weapons and moved”, he said.

There are nearly 425,000 Allied, German and civilian casualties associated with the D-Day invasion of Normandy, France. Frank and Mike Angotti returned safely home to Weston in December of 1945. Frank tenderly stated, “My mother walked over a mile to church every day to pray for my brother and me to come home safely. And we did.” Frank Angotti still resides in Weston.

Elkins High School
Winner: Rachel Morgan

Born on July 26th 1919 in the little town of Palace Valley, WV, Elmer Morgan was one of 13 children.  He helped his parents faithfully with their jobs of repairing complicated machinery, managing their store, and helping on the farm.  His dad and mom had to work hard to provide for their large family.  His father’s main job was working as a blacksmith and his mother worked on the farm some but mostly took care of the many children.  Of the 13 children in his family, some died early and only 8 boys and girls lived into adulthood.  Elmer grew up knowing that working was important and honored his parent’s diligence in hard working.  When he became independent, he began working for a lumber company and later took up work for the CCC’s.  Everything he did, he did to the best of his ability.

When Elmer heard of the war against Germany, he enlisted with his four brothers.  They felt a great connection with their country and felt a need to preserve its existence.  America needed fighting men or soldiers against enemies that were going to destroy and take over America.  Elmer and his brothers enlisted to defend their country and to survive.  In the war Elmer became a Master Sergeant and was under the armored division of General Patton.  Adapting to military life was both exciting and hard.  In Panama, some of his buddies and him hunted pigs and wild animals to eat because the army food was so terrible.  To pass the time while waiting to depart from Panama, Elmer and his friends walked through the jungle exploring.  One day they encountered a slow moving sloth hanging upside down from a tree.  His friends persuaded Elmer to climb up the tree to capture the sloth and take it back to camp as a pet.  He got within close range, and with lightening speed the sloth ripped wide open his army boot, missing slicing his leg off with the sloth’s razor sharp claw.  Elmer learned to never mess with a sloth again.

Germany was very different that Panama.  Elmer was one of the first American Soldiers to cross the bridge at Remagen before it collapsed.  In Germany it wasn’t all fighting.  Once when he and his friends were watching a dogfight between a US fighter pilot and a German fighter pilot, one man among the crowd suddenly fell over with a loud grunt.  Everyone thought the man was dead but there was no wound mark to be found on his body.  Sometime later the man “came back to life!”  It turned out a 50 caliber machine gun bullet had flown through the air and struck the man in the stomach, knocked the breath out of him, and knocked him out.  That caused a good laugh, but other times during the war there was nothing to laugh about.  When Elmer was driving an Army jeep with high ranking officers through German terrain, the jeep struck a landmine on his driver’s side.  All the passengers in the jeep died except for Elmer, and he thanked God for his safety.

Later on in the war, Elmer was granted an opportunity to return home for a short period of time in which he sought out his sweetheart, Juanita Suder, and married her in Buckhannon WV, making her Mrs. Juanita Morgan.  Unfortunately, he had to return to the service right after the wedding but promised to return.  He did return, but when the war ended Elmer was not returning in parades from the front lines but rather in a hospital bed recovering from shrapnel around his heart, a broken arm, and a broken jaw.  The shrapnel was never removed because it was too dangerous to operate but he fully recovered.

Elmer was never concerned with his injuries or very willing to accept praise for his purple heart he received.  He attributed all the honor to God for the gift of his life and safe return of not only himself, but all four of his brothers that came home safely as well.  He was thankful that he could live his life with Juanita and grow old enjoying the birth and growth of their two sons.  He was constantly reminded of his military insignia that he wore so proudly in the war, “Fight, Strike, Concur,” and the fact that he along with the United States Army lived up to that decree and made America safe from the enemy.

Jefferson High School
Winner: Airelle Lyle – Grand Prize winner for Comcast-Blue Ridge

William R. “Bill” Walters is a sixty-year-old retired United States Marine. He enlisted in 1967, when he was only seventeen years old. He served our country for three years. He ranked as a corporal, and his units name was the Third Marines.

Bill went through a series of training in several places. One of those places was Paris Island, where he underwent intense physical training. He also went through boot camp, bayonet training, fire arms training and took academic classes. After months of training he took a physical readiness test and finally graduated and became a Marine.

After graduation, his platoon traveled to California, Hawaii, Australia, and then to Vietnam. During the Vietnam War his unit was stationed in northern Vietnam. Something I learned from talking with Bill was that the soldiers got their supplies from airplanes that dropped it down to them, and also by small boats that traveled the rivers. These vessels supplied items that they didn’t already have. They had to carry fifty pounds of gear with them on a daily basis!

During his three years of serving in the Marines, Bill was honored with several medals. One of them was a Good Combat medal. Additionally, he was awarded with a Good Conduct medal. This was an honor most soldiers did not receive, which gives it a special significance.

While serving in Vietnam Bill was exposed to Agent Orange. This was an herbicide used to destroy the foliage of the forests and make it more difficult for the enemy to take cover. It was discovered after the war that the chemical had side effects for soldiers as well as the local Vietnamese people. This made him quite ill for a while, but he did eventually recover. Bill is now retired and, although he suffers from PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder), he is doing well.  He has recently wed my grandmother and has become a part of our family. Bill is very proud to have had the opportunity to serve his country. His story of the time he spent in the Marines is much more detailed, and he went through a lot. However, his experience is part of what makes him who he is today, and I am very proud to call him my grandfather.

Lewis County High School
Winner: Brittany Strother

As a majority, Americans are comforted by a sense of routine. A typical day could include getting out of bed, going about one’s usual business, and more than likely crawling back into bed that night. The carefree assumption of many more ‘tomorrows’ leaves the populous with a content sense of assurance.

But, what if someone is forsaken that routine? What if a person rose from bed of a morning, not knowing whether or not he or she would live to see that pillow again? Imagine looking around, seeing the faces of comrades and friends, and knowing that there was a definite chance of watching them die that day. While seeming like a morbid fantasy to most, that very thought is just the gruesome reality to hundreds of thousands of deployed Americans.

My father, Jason Strother, lived that reality. He was enlisted in the United States Army from 1988 to 1992, and a member of the Special Forces National Guard from 1992 to 1993. Before even seeing combat, he was intensively trained in several grueling militant fields. Some of these specialized schoolings included: thirteen weeks of basic and infantry training; twenty-one days of airborne “jump school” training; fourteen days of aerial assault training; fourteen days advanced jungle warfare; and seventy-eight days of Ranger School, which has been declared to be the most difficult training an aspiring soldier can endure.

After almost a full year of training, my father was assigned to a Long Range Reconnaissance Patrol team.  An LRRP team infiltrates enemy lines and gathers information such as plans for invasion, routes of movement, size of platoons, so on and so forth. He was an LRRP team member in Operation: Desert Storm for a good portion of his active military career; however, Iraq wasn’t the only place he was stationed in his four year deployment. Panama, Germany, North Carolina, and Florida were also some of his most memorable bases.

Besides Operation: Desert Storm, my father was also involved in two other important exercises; the Reforger of Germany, and Operation: Team Spirit in South Korea. During the Reforger of Germany, US troops were deployed to Germany to reinforce the already-stationed forces against the Soviet Union during the Cold War. Operation: Team Spirit was a similar exercise, but was executed to reinforce South Korea against potential invasions by North Korea or Red China.

All my life, my father has been the perfect model of an average, easy-going American father. I’ve known he was a veteran most of my life, but never really thought much of it. Now, after having even a fleeting glimpse into a part of his life previously inaccessible to me, I realize how much strength a veteran really must have to portray themselves as ordinary as you and I. In reality, they’re anything but average. Veterans, or even current soldiers, are real life, modern-day heroes, going above and beyond the call of duty, and portraying more courage than could ever be recorded on paper.

“If you’re gonna be a bear, be a grizzly.”
~Jason Strother, United States Veteran

Lincoln County High School
Winner: Leigh Ann Thompson

Although young, John Fisher knew that he wanted to serve his country. Born in Norwalk, Ohio on August 11, 1947, he grew up with two sisters and one brother. His high school years were spent focusing on his weekend job assembling camping trailers and making it through his classes. As soon as he turned seventeen, John enlisted in the marines. He knew they were the best fighting unit and that no other branch of the military could compare. In August of 1964, he shipped out for his training. At first, he viewed that place as a German concentration camp. Later on, John realized that there was a reason for everything that the drill sergeants did. He was trained as an infantryman and was deemed an expert marksman. The training was extensive and laborious, but he came out feeling as if he was in the best physical shape possible.

After boot camp, he traveled to Cuba, the Dominican Republic, and was on a six month Mediterranean cruise. From there, John’s military service led him to Vietnam. He spent two years serving on the front lines, encountering various enemies and obstacles. He formed a close friendship during that time. Letters were sent and received to ensure that a little part of home remained with him while he was away. In his own words, John described his recreational time as being spent on “booze and women” while in the service.

Once his stint in Vietnam was completed, he came home to Cleveland, Ohio. On his layover in Los Angeles, he encountered his first protestors. Being in a foreign country had not allowed him to experience such individuals. It was culture shock to see how things had changed and to witness so many people disrespecting an institution he saw honorable and important. However, on his arrival in Ohio, he was presented with a pleasant homecoming. It was good to be home and to see familiar surroundings. Although wonderful, it was slightly difficult to readjust. John was accustomed to the order and respect allotted in the military life, but had to reacquaint himself to ways of civilians.

He is a member of the VFW in Richfield, Ohio and stayed in contact with his friend, Charlie. They were friends for forty-sic years and their relationship ceased only because of his death. One side-effect of his service would be the flashbacks he experienced soon after Vietnam. Although somewhat painful, he was able to cope. He used to hunt, but has not had the desire to since his time in the military. Helicopters and fireworks produce sounds that he is not very fond of. John has lifetime health issues due to his exposure to Agent Orange. On a positive note, the marines made him a more rounded individual. He has learned to stand up for what he believes in and to honor his commitments. He views the experience as training to better prepare yourself to face any situation that you may encounter.

Musselman High School
Winner: Alexis Smallwood

2^nd Class Communications Technician Jerry Horner served in the United States Navy for four years.  Originally drafted for the Army, Mr. Horner was determined not to be involved in ground combat during the Vietnam War.  As a communications technician Mr. Horner went aboard destroyers and submarines to intercept radar signals for the Navy and train others.  Even when he was not in the water signals would be sent to Mr. Horner to identify.  During “boot camp,” Mr. Horner was given many tests, on the radio test Mr. Horner scored a one hundred percent; this was the start of a new communications technician.  This position was intriguing to Mr. Horner because it was a classified position that even others in the Navy did not know about.  When asked about the scariest moment during his service Mr. Horner said it was when he ended up in the Bay of Alexandria in Egypt in forbidden territory.  The submarine was not to be within twenty miles of the coast, but when the crew looked through the periscope they saw cars and buildings on the streets of Egypt.  Looking further a torpedo boat was spotted, this called for an emergency dive.  The sub dropped to the bottom of the bay, turned off all power, and instructed the crew to remain silent.  Mr. Horner remembers hearing the propeller of the torpedo boat above the submarine.  After four terrifying hours the sub could finally travel to safer ground.  Mr. Horner said that he has a few daunting memories but mostly good ones, laughing as he said “the food on the ship was really good.”  Being away from his family was the hardest part of serving our country, luckily Mr. Horner got to bring his wife overseas with him for about one year and spend some time touring Europe with her.  While away Mr. Horner said he also missed the open air, the trees, and everything else about nature.  Before being drafted Mr. Horner was a math major in college, after returning home Mr. Horner changed his major to biology so that he would never again have to miss nature.  After graduating, Mr. Horner taught science at Musselman High School for many years.  Even though at first Mr. Horner did not want to enlist he says that he is very glad that he did.  Mr. Horner said that he met so many people while serving in the United States Navy that he still stays in touch with today.  Since serving Mr. Horner has gladly shared his story with so many.  It is so wonderful to have so many former and current Musselman High School teacher who have served our nation proudly and used their experiences to teach their students who veterans really are and everything they have given up for our freedom.

Parkersburg High School
Winner: Trent Cheuvront

What comes to mind when you hear the word “veteran”?  In my mind, I see an older gentleman in a military uniform.  When I was thinking about who to interview for this paper, my first thoughts were my grandparents or someone they may know who is a veteran.  I think most people’s image when they hear the word is also of an older person.  I believe sometimes we forget about all of the younger people, men and women, who are also veterans.  As I thought about the essay longer, I thought I would interview a younger veteran.  I chose my cousin-in-law, Justin Anderson.

Justin is a 26 year old veteran of the Marine Corps.  He served for six years.  During his term, he served in Iraq, Djibouti, Morocco, and Honduras.  Justin is trained as a Combat Engineer.  A Combat Engineer breaches buildings by blowing up doors and walls to raid the buildings of weapons.  They must also pursue any enemies that they may come in contact with.  They are to collect the weapons and destroy them.  His day began at daybreak.  He would patrol through the desert, eat lunch, and then patrol for the rest of the day.  He would then go back to base or make camp for the night before dark.  During the night, some men would sleep and some men would keep watch to provide security.  The next day would be the same.  His last tour was in Iraq just a couple of years ago.  He thought it was surprisingly cold there, not only in the winter, but also in the spring and summer.

While interviewing Justin, I realized what a hard job it is to serve in the military.  It is very physically demanding.  Also, it can be very emotionally demanding.  The job can be repetitive, which could make for very long days.  Being stationed away from home can be emotionally draining too.  I think a job like Justin’s would make me very apprehensive.  You would never know what to expect when you enter a building or what you may find when on patrol.

I have a much deeper respect for veterans after this interview.  I could not imagine myself going around the world and performing the duties of a job such as a Combat Engineer in a year or two, and yet many people do.  We should all give the veterans the respect that they deserve, not only on Veteran’s day, but every day.

Petersburg High School
Winner: Lindsey Sites

Up Close with a Veteran

            As Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz once said, “Toto, I don’t think we’re in Kansas anymore.” This was more than likely the thought of many men and women that have served in our armed forces in various locations. The price for freedom can be very high, experiences vastly different.

For one such 22 year old, fresh out of college, the experience began when he was applying for a teaching job after graduating from Fairmont State College. He didn’t get the job and President Nixon had already called for a draft. Being unemployed, he was put in a lottery – the only time his number has been pulled!

Born August 16, 1947 in Petersburg, West Virginia, his father worked at a paper plant, his mother at the local hospital. His sister became a teacher at the same school where he would one day gain employment – after he served.

In June of 1970, he was sent off to basic training in Fort Knox, Kentucky. For the first 6 weeks, the men were allowed no sweets – no candy or soda. Being a Coke lover, he found a Coke machine 1 ½ miles from base that he often jogged to on a regular basis. His hair had been cut short. He comments that he knows what it is to clean a bathroom with a toothbrush.

Being a college graduate, he tested ell and was sent to Aircraft Electrician School to be trained as a helicopter mechanic. After training he was sent to Makong Delta, Vinh Long Army Airfield, 1^st Aviation Brigade. Once there, he was assigned to a job as a Legal Clerk processing court-martials. He did his job, never really forming any close lasting friendships. He purchased a tape recorder and taped messages that he would mail home to his family. They would in turn send back recorded messages or write letters. Close by was a store described as a “mini Walmart,” a library and a bar. These were considered “luxuries” by those on base.

While most only received one leave, he was lucky enough to get three. He traveled to Australia and China, where he saw the Opera House being built. Seeing different parts of the world was the highlight of his service.

He served 19 months in Vietnam, and finished out his 24 months at a National Guard Camp in Connecticut. Returning home, he faced uncertainty as he arrived in the states. He was fumigated on the plane as he arrived in California, a humiliating end for serving his county. The he faced the crowd, not knowing if he would be spit on as he walked through the airport.

Returning to civilian life proved to be a challenge. He admits to being “rambunctious and unhappy.” He now feels some things are better forgotten. He finishes by saying “Old soldiers don’t die, young ones do.”

He is Don Bradford Kite, retired teacher from Petersburg High School, to whom I must say “thank you.”

Weir High School
Winner: Michael Mastromichalis – Grand Prize winner for Comcast-Keystone

February 14, 1947, is the day that forever changed the life of my grandfather, Paul Souranis, as he completed his long voyage from Rhodes, Greece.  Upon reaching Baltimore’s harbor, he disembarked, not knowing a soul.  Fortunately, Paul soon saw his brother, George, who had come from Greece earlier, and he took Paul to his house and found him a job.  Paul spent the next several months pursuing the American Dream until he received a letter.  Expecting it to be from his family, he eagerly opened it, only to find that it was something very different.

The letter actually said that Paul had been drafted by the US Army’s Fourth Infantry Division.  The Korean War was ongoing, so he grew fearful.  Having lived through the German occupation of Greece in World War II, he knew firsthand the horrors of war, and furthermore, he hardly understood English, only Greek.  He also did not want his family to worry about losing him, but despite all his fears, he willingly accepted his duty as an American soldier.  Later on, he received another letter stating he was to be stationed in Munich, not Korea.  Feeling more relieved, he boarded the ship to Germany.

Upon arrival, his first task was to learn English.  Because he was forced to learn Italian in World War II, he was no stranger to learning a new language, and before long, he was fluent in English.  Now that the language barrier was broken, the demands got even greater.  Each and every day, he and the men went out into the field for maneuvers to practice marksmanship and run obstacle courses filled with barbed wire, machine gun fire, and simulated explosions.  He was constantly running, drilling, and trying to keep his gear in working condition.  He was to keep his living quarters and appearance neat; punishments were also harsh for having one button undone.  Life as a soldier was demanding, but he grew to enjoy his line of work.

On a lighter note, Paul also made new friends, as he would sit and eat with and, for entertainment, even try to bench press a few in his down time.  When asked by an officer, Paul said that he liked the Army but wished they would give him more than one slice of bread.  The next day, responding to his comment, the cook gave him the whole loaf!  When allowed, he visited Greece and saw his family again.  His mother was proud of him for doing so well and glad to see him safe.  These experiences made his service more worthwhile.

After the war, Private First Class Paul Souranis was honorably discharged and moved to Weirton after getting a job with Weirton Steel.  Though he never actually fought, I am proud of my grandfather for serving America.  I remember always asking him to tell me about the Army, and his stories will always allow me to remember him and his incredible journey.  He came from Greece, but he is the ideal American.

Wheeling Park High School
Winner: Cristin Dolan

Aunt Alice

As a 19 year old, my aunt Alice joined the Army. She was involved in the Army for ten years and she enlisted and re-enlisted several times. During basic training, my Aunt Alice received physical training, weapons training, and drivers training. Her physical training was at six o’clock in the morning, seven days a week. She also supervised soldiers and became a post level office administrator for two hundred chaplains. She scheduled appointments for soldier counseling, completed ground maintenance, and supervised weddings, funerals, and retreats. She lived in barracks where she received only a bed, footlocker, and a desk.

At Fort Jackson, South Carolina, she took eight weeks of basic training and eight weeks of cook training, Additionally, she went to Fort Benning, Georgia for three weeks to attend airborne school. The women were largely outnumbered by men, nine to three hundred. While at Fort Benning, she ran about a seven minute mile daily and did push-ups all day every day. They used swing landing training – a harness hooked to the roof of a barn-like structure; you got in the harness and jumped off a loft. As they were swinging, you were released and they had to tuck and land safely. My aunt Alice received the well known nickname of “5 Jump Chump”, for she jumped out of an airplane five times. She specifically recalls one time she was in the door position, which is when you are the first in line to jump out of an airplane at twelve hundred feet. At graduation, everyone received their jump wings. If someone had a family member or mentor that had already gone through jump school they got the privilege of punching the pin into the graduate’s chest. Later she trained to become a chaplain’s or minister’s, assistant where she associated with Jewish, Muslim, Catholic, and Protestant chaplains. She then received more training at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, and Fort Richardson, Alaska. In Alaska, she completed Artic survival training; in North Carolina, she did repelling training. My aunt Alice was at Fort Bragg during Desert Shield and Desert Storm. She also received bayonet and hand to hand combat training. She graduated from Primary Leadership Development Course and Basic Non-Commissioned Officers Course. Also, she got married and had a child while in the Army.

During her experience in the Army, my aunt Alice reached the rank of sergeant. She attended night school and achieved an Associates Degree. She earned the following honors: Army Lapel Button, Army Commendation Medals, Army Achievement Medals, Good Conduct Medals, National Defense Service Medal, Non-Commissioned Officer’s Professional Development Ribbon II, Army Service Ribbon, Overseas Service Ribbon, Marksmanship Qualification Badge with Rifle Bar, and Honorable Discharge. Following her discharge, she used her G.I. Bill education money to complete two Associates Degrees and Bachelor’s Degree.

My aunt Alice noted she learned discipline, independence, and leadership during her enlistment in the Army. She also met many people form all over the world, traveled, and got an excellent education.

HAMLIN – In an elaborate and often moving ceremony, Lincoln County High School honored the nation’s veterans last week, a day ahead of the annual Veteran’s Day holiday.

The Thursday, November 10, 2011 included a video message from U.S. Senator Jay Rockefeller and service recollections from five servicemen. The 90-minute program was held in the school’s auditorium and got underway at 1:30 p.m.

After the national anthem, posting of the colors and the Pledge of Allegiance, the video message from the senator was played. The video also included comments from four veterans.

JROTC Instructor Lt. Dallas Plumley, serving as emcee for the event, then introduced Executive Director of West Virginia Cable Telecommunications Association Mark Polen. Polen explained that the association is a sponsor of the annual Take A Veteran To School Day. Lincoln County High School is one of just 14 high schools in the state taking part in the event and the only school in the southern half of the state to participate. Huntington Boys and Girls Club is also a participant.

Polen revealed the winners of the essay writing contest, announced earlier this fall by Plumley. Senior Leigh Ann Thompson took the top prize for her essay. Placing second was Courtney Plumley and third was Blake Smith. Thompson was presented with her prize by Plumley and Principal Ryan Saxe.

Five veterans then took to the stage to tell their individual stories. Steve Shumate (Army) served as moderator and was joined by Larry Rice (Navy), Fred Duty (Army), Don Cox (Marines) and Mike Zelker(Army).

Lunch was served in the school’s cafeteria immediately after the ceremony.

INWOOD – Musselman High School participated in West Virginia’s fourth annual “Take a Veteran to School Day” program sponsored by the West Virginia Cable Telecommunications Association.

In an effort to teach students, Comcast and the History Channel have partnered with the WVCTA to bring West Virginia veterans into 14 schools throughout the state to share their experiences.

“Anything regarding history that you can bring the kids in and listen to and see realistically – instead of just in a book – when they see their faces and hear their real-life stories is extremely important because they can relate better,” said Musselman High School Principal Holly Kleppner.

This year, Richard Talbott, Navy 1978-81; Douglas Fargo, Army 1944-46; John Harmison, Army 1948-52; and Warren Clopper, Marine Corps 1966-87, spoke to the high school’s students.

Each veteran talked about why he decided to join the military, what occurred while in service and the impact serving had on their lives.

“War is not glamorous, war is not the best job you can get. It’s dirty, the hardest thing I ever did in my life, but it was a necessary evil. We want the people here to know that your liberty was based on the guys to my left and right,” Clopper said.

After the veterans shared their experiences, students had the opportunity to ask the four men questions.

“I think it helps (students) learn more about it because talking to somebody is more one-on-one, and makes them respect the veterans more because they can hear their voices and the expression of their voices,” said Alexis Smallwood, a senior.

“They’ve just done so much and given up so much for our country that we need to understand what they’ve done and how far our countries come and what’s had to take place for us to be where we are today,” she said.

According to Paul Comes, director of government and community affairs at Comcast, the stories that the four veterans shared as well as the veterans from the 13 other West Virginia schools will be taped for posterity.

“That should add over 100 to 150 stories different stories from West Virginia,” Comes said. “The stories will be submitted to the Library of Congress so they’ll stay alive.”

WELLSBURG – Area residents who served their country, from World War II to the present, visited Brooke High School Thursday to take part in a school assembly paying tribute to all veterans, living and dead, and share some of their experiences serving overseas at wartime.

Following a schoolwide Veterans Day assembly, students in Greg Rothwell’s American History classes and the school’s Academic Team, History Club and Judicial Scholars gathered in the lecture room to hear from four local veterans: Bill Schwertfeger of Follansbee, an Army World War II veteran; Tom Lyke of Colliers, an Army veteran held at a Communist prisoner of war camp during the Korean War; Stephen Jasko of Wellsburg, an Army Vietnam War veteran; and Army Reserve Lt. Veronica Bell, who is commander of the 336th Engineering Co. in Weirton and served 18 months in Iraq.

The four were invited to participate in the Take a Veteran to School program sponsored nationally by the History Channel and in West Virginia by members of the West Virginia Cable Telecommunications Association, including local sponsor Comcast.

Comcast spokeswoman Jennifer Highfield said more than 10,000 schools throughout the U.S. have participated in the program since it began in 2008, and the Brooke High School program was one of 14 being held in West Virginia this year.

Also participating this week were Weir and Wheeling Park high schools.

The four veterans were frank, sharing good and bad memories.

Jasko said 900 service members were killed on their first day in Vietnam, and he and his fellow soldiers were well aware of the mortality rate when they arrived there in 1967. Fear, oppressive heat, clouds of dust that rose from tracks left by military trucks and a sign that said “Pittsburgh is 10,500 miles away” helped to form his first impression of the country.

Jasko said he and others in the Military Police patrolled a 30-mile area north of Saigon day and night. Once a tank triggered a land mine, blowing “the belly out of it” and killing several soldiers inside.

His tour of duty was near an end when the North Vietnamese launched the Tet Offensive, an effort to overtake as many cities and military posts in South Vietnam as possible. The Viet Cong killed a couple of MPs and used their radios to order American troops “to go home or tonight you die,” he recalled.

His parents had seen news coverage of the war and didn’t expect him to return, Jasko said. “It was pretty scary for everybody.”

Schwertfeger confessed he also experienced fear while serving Nazi-occupied Italy. He related “walking a minefield scared to death that each step you take might be your last.”

He compared the sound of a mortar barrage fired by the enemy to the finale of a fireworks display, with less pleasant connotations, and said upon hearing it, “That’s when you wish you had dug that foxhole a hell of a lot deeper.”

Schwertfeger said seeing a friend shot down by a sniper while serving guard duty “was one of my worst moments.”

He said many want to know if a veteran has killed someone. He said there are two types of combat: hand-to-hand and a less direct variety, such as the distant “shelling” of enemy forces. He said he never experienced the first but having been involved in the latter, “I think I probably did.”

Lyke said he was too young to enlist for World War II, much to his regret, and lied about his age, which was 16, when he enlisted in the Army in 1949. He even consumed a gallon of milk and 5 pounds of bananas in an effort to meet the Army’s weight requirement, he said.

After entering basic training, an officer questioned him about his age and when pressed, admitted the truth. But the officer said he appeared to have acclimated well to military life and only warned him to stay out of trouble “or I’ll have you and your mother in a cell,” Lyke recalled.

He was in a tank battalion attempting to rescue Army Airborne Rangers surrounded by the enemy when he and others were captured by Community Chinese troops and forced to march 190 miles to a prisoner of war camp, where they were held for 855 days.

He’d been wounded three times but said the “psychological warfare” employed by his captors was more difficult to endure, particularly when friends were killed there.

He and other prisoners took showers in the rain and slept on straw, his weight dropped from 157 pounds to 87 pounds in two months, his hands and feet were frostbitten, and he still deals with physical and emotional effects from the experience, Lyke said.

Bell said she was part of a 15-vehicle military convoy in Iraq when an improvised explosive device was discharged, spraying shrapnel into her back and causing hearing loss in one ear. Fortunately, the 82nd Airborne was able to escort them to a medical hospital, she said.

She and other wounded soldiers could have returned to camp but chose to continue on the mission.

“That was a very big turning point for me as a soldier, as a woman and as a person,” Bell said, adding she had found an inner strength. She told the teens they, too, can draw upon such strength in times of trouble.

The experience inspired her to set higher goals. She initially oversaw five soldiers but ultimately became the first female commander of her company.

“We can do – we can achieve – anything we set our minds to,” Bell advised.

All of the veterans related unpleasant conditions not usually mentioned in war movies. Jasko said Vietnam’s oppressive heat and the inability to change underwear regularly led to uncomfortable rashes.

Schwertfeger said he would find large, brown lice on himself and in his clothes from the straw he laid on. Bell said lice was a problem in Iraq, also.

A student asked the veterans what was the first thing they did when they returned home.

Schwertfeger said he arrived in the early morning and, reluctant to wake his family, walked the streets of Follansbee for a while and “just enjoyed the feeling of being at home.”

Lyke shed a tear when he recalled arriving at the Wheeling-Ohio County Airport to find Charlotte, the woman to whom he has been married for 57 years.

Jasko said public opinion of the Vietnam War was very negative, and when he arrived at the Pittsburgh Airport, he immediately went to the restroom to change from his uniform into civilian clothes. He said later he visited the mother of his best friend, who was killed in the war, and she embraced him.

Bell said family is very important to her, so she joined her family for an outdoor barbecue.

In opening the assembly, Head Principal Toni Shute said the holiday offers an opportunity to “recognize that all veterans have given something for this country and some have given all, laying down their lives for the freedoms we all enjoy.”

Shute told the many staff, students and community members who gathered in the school’s gym that the assembly served to send “a simple but heartfelt message to all veterans here today: thank you.”

And when veterans of all ages responded to Shute’s invitation to stand and be recognized, they received a standing ovation and extended applause from the students.

Leaders of the school’s Future Business Leaders of America and Interact clubs and its auto technology class presented $800 to Charles “Poke” Beall of the Brooke County Veterans Memorial Park Foundation for efforts to establish a park honoring all Brooke County veterans at Brooke Hills Park.

The money was raised through the sale of red, white and blue bracelets and donations made one day for wearing hats, normally a violation of the school’s dress code.

MORGANTOWN – Morgantown High School got a head start on Veterans Day on Thursday, by honoring local veterans.

Not only were the students honoring the members of the community who have served our country, but the ceremony was a time to remind students about the sacrifice the members of the armed forces make to protect our country.

“I was in the Marine Corp for nine and a half years. I never stopped. If there was an opportunity to do something, I took it,” Michael Deem said proudly.

Deem has been a special education teacher at Morgantown High School for more than a decade.

He joked that being a high school teacher can sometimes rival being in the military.

On Thursday, the Mohigan family welcomed veterans and used the gathering as a time to educate students on the history of our local heroes.

“It’s interesting because sometimes veterans seem like a distant person. They’ve fought before and you don’t really know who they are because it’s not like they’re in uniform every day. But seeing actual people you know, teachers that you’ve had, and not even realizing that they’re veterans is pretty special,” added Jared Peterson, a senior at M.H.S. who helped organize the event.

“They have the opportunities to do so much and because of veterans. I can’t put it in any other terms. What we did to protect the country and to keep things the way they are,” said Deem.

Not many understand the sacrifice of serving your country quite like Michael Deem.

“This [uniform] belonged to my son, who gave his life in Iraq for us. So we could be here today. I promised myself I would lose a little bit of weight to fit in it, in order for me to wear it for him. It’s all for him today. He’s my hero. Somebody else can say that I’m the hero, but he’s the hero,” reflected Deem.

“It’s good to reflect. It should be more than one time a year, but to reflect and educate and think about things other than yourself for a little bit. Like the pledge in the morning, tomorrow, I’ll definitely say it loud and proud,” smiled Peterson.

The veterans and students who participated in the ceremony gathered together for lunch in the library and later in the school day, students listened to a round table discussion, to fully understand everything our veterans mean to this community.

HAMLIN – As Lincoln County High School honored all branches of the military on Thursday, many veterans sat in the audience with an ROTC Student.  It was Take A Veteran To School Day, and Lincoln County High School is one of many schools in West Virginia taking part in the nationwide effort.

Senior Courtney Plumley brought her grandfather to school. “It makes me feel proud of them like I want to show them off a little bit because they’ve had achievements,” said Plumley.

“They are already showing us the honor that Veteran’s Day means to me.  They’re showing it to us by wanting us to be a participant,” said Wilfred Plumley, Courtney’s grandfather and also an Army veteran.

Savannah Lovejoy’s grandfather came for her on this day. “I’m really proud because I think what he did was important.  It’s a big deal.  It’s something to be proud of,” said Lovejoy.

The day also included an assembly where veterans of four wars shared the pride of military service along with the pains of war.

“I lost something that was most precious to me.  I lost my brother over there,” said Fred Duty, a World War Two veteran.

“They can talk with the other veterans and we can let them know what we experienced and what we went through,” said Michael Beaver, a Marine veteran.

The hope is students will receive a greater appreciation for their freedoms by hearing first hand how they got it.