Every year, Veterans Day is celebrated to honor all of America’s veterans. The event was started as Armistice Day in November 1919 by President Wilson to honor the veterans of the First World War. In 1954, the day was changed to Veterans Day to honor all American Veterans of all wars.

This past week, the School celebrated Veterans Day on Tuesday, November 11, in the upper gym. The event was coordinated by U.S. History Teacher
Chris Lindley, who has been in charge of coordinating the event since 2005. Schools in Indiana are required by Indiana Code 1-1-11-2 to have “appropriate exercises in commemoration of the historical events associated with the day”.

The event started with the teachers singing the National Anthem. Afterwards, Lindley recited the names and branches of all of the attending veterans.
After their name was called, one of the volunteering students would shake their hand to thank them for their service. Next, guest speaker, Charles Cissell, a former Marine, gave a speech. During his speech, he described his journey to where he is today, with the idea of showing how he was only able to get where he is because of his time in the military.

Afterward, four students spoke to the student body and the veterans. Senior Jesslyn Brown read the “History of Veterans,” junior Cheyenne Hopper read “Reagan Speaks for Freedom,” junior Kaylee Baxter read “A Country of Liberty,” and junior Garrett Cook read “Freedom Isn’t Free.” Finally, the event ended with the playing of “Taps” by Nathaniel Dixon.

“I hope the event helped students understand the sacrifice of our veterans who stopped their lives to serve, missed family and friend events, and some were even placed in harm’s way. For those who were exposed to harm, I hope students can understand how that changes a person’s life, what we call the invisible wounds. These are the things that our veterans carry on our behalf. Our nation has asked much of them, and in return, we need to remember our debt to them,” said Lindley.