Veterans Day Celebration
At Gilpin County Schools
It was a time for patriotic reflection through song, speech–and silence–on the morning of Tuesday, November 11th, in “Honoring All Who Served,” the theme for this year’s Veterans Day Celebration in the old gym at the Gilpin County Schools. The Middle/High School choir opened the ceremony with a medley of four patriotic songs, beginning with a rousing rendition of “God Bless America” written by Irving Berlin in 1918:
“God bless America,
Land that I love,
Stand beside her and guide her
Thru the night with a light from above.”
This was followed by American folksinger Woody Guthrie’s “This Land Is Your Land” from the 1940s:
“This land is your land, this land is my land
From the California to the New York Island
From the Redwood Forest to the Gulf stream waters
This land was made for you and me.”
Ending the medley was “America the Beautiful” written by Katharine Lee Bates in 1893.
The Abraham Lincoln High School ROTC (Reserve Officers’ Training Corps) cadets performed the Presentation of Colors flag ceremony, also placing the POW/MIA flag upon a vacant chair to symbolize absent soldiers. The Girl Scout Troop 2190 and Cub Scout Pack 251 led the standing audience in reciting the Pledge of Allegiance written by Francis Bellamy in 1892. Gary Haarbye led the audience in singing “The Star-Spangled Banner” written by Francis Scott Key in 1814. President Herbert Hoover signed the song into national history in 1931 when he decreed it by law as the country’s national anthem.
Superintendent Tina Goar then welcomed everyone to the ceremony and introduced the Master of Ceremonies, David Yerkman (Sr.). His remarks mentioned that on this day America pays tribute to the 50 million veterans who have served the country. Next, the Middle/High School Choir caused a swinging mood in the audience with their performance of the “Yankee Doodle Song” written by American playwright George M. Cohan in 1904:
“I’m a Yankee Doodle Dandy,
A Yankee Doodle, do or die;
A real live nephew of my Uncle Sam’s,
Born on the Fourth of July. “
Acting as Master of Ceremonies, Jane Yerkman introduced the Active Duty Military Guests on stage: Air Force Staff Sergeant Dawn Haigh; Army National Guard Sergeant Bob Brandstetter; Marine Staff Sergeant Hayes; and Navy Petty Officer Chris Bouchard. Air Force Staff Sergeant Dawn Haigh stood at the speaker’s podium in delivering brief but emotional comments about her service in the military. She said, “I am proud that I have the ability to defend the defenseless.”
Jane Yerkman, the school district communications coordinator, presented “Military Service in My Family,” a project in which school students made individual red, white or blue paper stars representing family members who had served or were still serving in the military. The resulting 129 stars were mounted on one of the gym’s walls papered in red, white and blue panels. It was an impressive sight–a tangible symbol honoring all who had served.
Another symbol of honor is the school district’s unique “linked loop” flag which was mounted on the opposite gym wall – each student-made loop in the flag has the name of a member of the armed services. This is the seventh year the flag has been hung in the Veterans Day Celebration.
Next was the Veteran’s Service Salute in which all veterans of each branch of the service rose to be recognized when called by name. Air Force representatives were Lt. Col. Robert Gallerani, Staff Sgt. Dawn Haigh, Airman Charles McDonald, Sgt. Jim Ball, and Cpl. Paul Hoefer. Representing the Army were Spec. 5 Victor Asevedo, Spec. 5 Gary King, Sgt. Tim Pietsch, Sgt. Don Treese, Spec. 4 Sam Wardell, Spec. 3 Richard Schmidt, and Sgt. Shawn Blondo. The Army National Guard was represented by Sgt. Bob Brandstetter. Navy representatives were Petty Officer Alan Busto, Petty Officer Chris Bouchard, Petty Officer Bonnie Woolsey, and Petty Officer Joseph Immordino.
After a moment of silence honoring veterans, a traditional solo rendition of “Taps” was played by Jonathan Ramsey (6th Grade) on the trumpet.
Superintendent Goar introduced the key speaker for the event, Mr. Edward Perez (Ret., USN), who was awarded the Silver Star for his service which included two tours of duty in Iraq. Mr. Perez explained the origins of Veterans Day, originally known as Armistice Day, in honoring veterans. President Woodrow Wilson officially observed two minutes of silence on November 11, 1919 at 11:00 a.m. to celebrate all veterans. As Mr. Perez commented, “Some of us gave all.” He emphasized that “Freedom is not free, it costs,” and “We do it for you and we’d do it anytime.”
Nicole Droel (4th Grade) read a poem, “Veteran,” followed by a video donated by the Central City Elks Lodge 557 dedicated to honor all who serve. The video featured the title song, “God Bless the U.S.A.,” written and sung by Lee Greenwood, originally released in 1983:
“And I’m proud to be an American,
where at least I know I’m free.
And I won’t forget the men who died,
who gave that right to me. “
The Middle/High School Choir came to the rescue when the gym remained in total darkness after the video while the overhead metal halide lights slowly restarted. The choir began with “America the Beautiful,” and two songs later ended with “Yankee Doodle Song.” By that time the audience had joined the choir with deafening hand-clapping and bleacher-stomping in time to the music! It was a great spontaneous tribute to the celebration.
After the lights came on the Fifth Graders were up next with their kinetic interpretation of “Fifty Nifty United States” by Ray Charles, including the lyrics “Fifty nifty United States from thirteen original colonies/Add up to USA!”
The Middle/High School Band played, “You’re a Grand Old Flag,” written by Cohan in 1906. The Lincoln High School ROTC cadets performed the Retire the Colors ceremony and closing remarks were made by M.C. Yerkman. The Booster Club provided delicious refreshments for the enjoyment of all in the atrium at the end of the celebration.