ACS students gathered for an all-school chapel on Friday, November to honor and remember the sacrifices made by America’s veterans. Nearly 40 veterans from every branch of the service, including parents, grandparents, and great grandparents of ACS students, attended the chapel. Members of the elementary Servant’s Heart Club greeted the veterans when they arrived and gave them patriotic paper lanyards and thank-you cards made by the club members. Chief School Administrator Karen Oblen opened the program with prayer and asked the veterans to stand and be recognized by their branch of service, prompting an appreciative round of applause from the students.
Two members of the ACS Boy Scout Troop 389 presented the colors and led the salute to the American flag. The varied program continued with patriotic musical presentations by the 5th-12th grade band and the kindergarten, second, and third grade classes. The preschool students made a special gift presentation to each veteran of a hand-made thank-you card with red, white, and blue hearts and the 5th grade worship team got everyone on their feet, moving and clapping along for their performance of “Our God.”
U.S. Air Force Staff Sergeant Chase Myers, who is stationed at the Joint Base near Trenton and was deployed in Kuwait and Iraq in 2015, gave the keynote remarks. He talked about the courage, sacrifices, and hardships that veterans make serving both in war and peacetime. “Most elements of a life in the armed forces carry some risk, and our veterans accept that risk with pride,” Myers said. “As Christians, this isn’t a foreign concept. Giving up your life for something greater is what being a Christian is all about.” Myers encouraged the students that if they see or meet a veteran to be sure to thank them for their service, noting that less than 1 percent of Americans serve in the military. “Veterans provide a vital service to this country that very few are willing to do.”
After the chapel program, groups of students gathered to talk with some of the veterans and ask questions about their time in the service. ACS grandparent Donald Mazak, who was a sergeant in the U.S. Army from 1966-1972, talked about his experiences while stationed in Da’nang in Vietnam with students in Mrs. Ash’s 5th grade class.