Minooka Students Learn Veterans Day History

Although many local children spent Friday morning at home on a school holiday, students at were in class learning how Veterans Day began.

To help students understand the meaning behind the holiday, MCHS teachers Beth Binotti and Jeff Easthon, along with Student Activities Director Kim Swanson, put together a video including interviews with veterans the students see every day. Seniors and Eric Ziech edited the video clips and interviews and Trent Bontrager oversaw the program’s production.

Ken Maas, retired MCHS mathematics teacher and current MCHS campus monitor at South Campus, and David Blackwell, husband of Central Campus monitor Susan Blackwell, were included in the video.

Maas was drafted into the United States Army in June of 1971, he says in the video. He did not have to go to Vietnam, as the nation was leaving at the time.

"What Veterans Day means to me? Back then, the Vietnam War was a very unpopular war and the veterans that came out of service were not looked upon with a lot of respect and honor that they should have been," he said. "Now with the soldiers getting out of Iraq and Afghanistan and other conflicts, they're being honored and respected by the citizens of this country, which I think is terrific.

"And I think all veterans, from whatever war, World War II, Korea, Vietnam, should be honored and respected by the citizens for perhaps making the ultimate sacrifice for doing the things that other people did not want to do or could do."

David Blackwell served in the Navy.

"I spent a lot of years underwater doing things that ranged from boring to hilarious, but it was all in a good name and that name was to defend our country," he said.

He said he wants everyone to understand the sacrifices that veterans go through.

"It's a privilege to live in this country and the reason we can all live in this country freely, the way that we do, is because there are people who are willing to put their lives at risk and in some cases, to give their lives to defend this country," he said.

Blackwell ended the video by leading students in the Pledge of Allegiance.