Modesto students get lesson in service from veterans

The Veterans Day observance got an early start at Agnes Baptist Elementary School in Modesto, which on Monday honored military service members at two appreciation assemblies.

Students and staff also saluted the veterans in their families with a Wall of Honor: 35 photographs of veterans, accompanied by text identifying them and their relatives at the school.

Veterans on the wall ranged from World War II all the way through the war in Iraq, said second-grade teacher and event director Sheila Marable. “I hope that it grows every year,” she said of the wall, noting that it was a last-minute addition this year and families didn’t get a lot of notice to contribute. “We have over 600 students here, and now that they’ve seen the wall, when I offer it next year, I hope it will be twice as big.”

The wall will remain up the rest of this month, she said.

This was the third year for veterans appreciation assemblies at the school, which is in the Stanislaus Union Elementary School District. But it was the first year for the Wall of Honor and for veterans to be invited afterward to talk further with students about their experiences, Marable said. “A lot brought uniforms and their old hats and jackets,” and students were excited for the opportunity to examine them, she said. Between the two assemblies, she estimates that about 20 to 30 veterans visited the school.

“We are learning about the service, sacrifice and bravery of our men and women in the military,” Marable said at an assembly. “We are all learning the importance of not forgetting. Time has a way of minimizing our memories. That’s a nice way of saying as you get older, you might forget a few things.

“But I never want to forget the importance of tomorrow’s holiday. I’ve come to realize that Veterans Day, a United States holiday celebrating the men and women who’ve served in the military, is one of the least understood of our national holidays.

“I always tell my students: Veterans Day focuses on honoring the living veterans, rather than Memorial Day in May, which honors those who have died in battle.”

Those living U.S. veterans total 23 million, she said, with California having about 2.5 million and growing, Marable said.

Veterans Day was originally known as Armistice Day, she said at the assembly, and was created to celebrate the signing of the treaty, or armistice, to end World War I in 1918. That war ended in the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, Marable told the students – hence the Nov. 11 holiday.

In 1954, the holiday’s name was changed to Veterans Day to also honor those who served in World War II and the Korean War.

“And now today,” Marable told the audience, “it is a day to honor all veterans of all U.S. branches of service who have served during war or peace. ... Veterans put their lives on the line to protect the rights and freedoms of all Americans. I’ve heard it many times: Freedom is not free.”

This story was originally published November 10, 2014 at 1:06 PM with the headline "Modesto students get lesson in service from veterans."