Veterans share experiences with students
By KATE SCHOTT kschott@daily-chronicle.com
|
| Sycamore resident Jerry Pelan, who served in the Marine Corps from 1959-65, carries an American flag into the cafeteria at Sycamore High School. (Kate Schott - kschott@daily-chronicle.com) |
SYCAMORE – When Pete Johnson's mother became ill and all three of her sons were fighting overseas in World War II, the Red Cross told her that she should request one of her boys be sent home.
"My mother, in her Danish brogue, who couldn't speak English well, who couldn't write letters to us ... told the Red Cross, 'Me boys belong over there,'" Johnson said Tuesday morning as he recalled the story during a Veterans Day observance at Sycamore High School. "That was the attitude of the nation."
Johnson was one of several speakers at the fifth annual observance, which is held the day before Veterans Day since school is not in session on Veterans Day, organizer Jerry Pelan said. Next year, it will be held on Veterans Day because school will be in session, he said.
"I felt a need to make our students aware of what our veterans sacrifices have done for the freedoms we have today," Pelan said.
The day started with a short ceremony outside at the school's flagpole, with an invocation by DeKalb County Sheriff Roger Scott and then the lowering of the flag to half-staff. Pelan then walked the hallways of the school with an American flag, accompanied by a drum core escort, veterans, students and politicians.
Teachers were invited to bring classes down to the cafeteria to hear local veterans share stories of their experiences. Senior Lindsey Druck, a photo editor of the school's yearbook, attended to take pictures.
"It's good for us to know how it came about and what it means to veterans," Druck said.
Johnson, who enlisted in the Army but served as a communications person in the Marines, shared how he and 65 other students marched from Northern Illinois University to the downtown train station when they were to deploy.
"We didn't know what war was all about," the 1940 SHS graduate said. "We just knew that we should enlist if we could."
Sycamore Mayor Ken Mundy, a Navy veteran, shared a letter he said was from a city resident serving now. The man wrote that he had to pack the items for his fallen comrades, men who had fiancées or wives or children they had never seen.
"War is war. It's hell," Mundy said. "And we thank all those who ever put on a uniform to defend our freedom."
Comments
