Students from across Utica Community Schools took time this week to celebrate their community’s heroes.
From elementary to high school, students thanked veterans in words and song for their sacrifices to freedom.
The celebrations included:
West Utica - For the 27th straight year, students celebrated their community’s veterans in music and song.
In what has become an annual tradition, students also gave each veteran in attendance a gift. This year’s gift was the star from a retired flag.
Henry Ford II - Organized by the school’s Interact Club, Henry Ford II honored local veterans with band and choir Veterans performances and student speakers. Students also lined the hallways and clapped for the community heroes as they moved from the auditorium to a special breakfast in their honor.
“The school could have chosen to let Veterans Day be business as usual and many of the students would had never given a thought to the meaning behind the day,” Andrea Oehus, the wife of a veteran. “Instead, hundreds of lives were enlightened in some way, shape or form.”
Eisenhower High School - Students and staff packed the auditorium to salute their local heroes. In a moving set of comments, Brian Lambka spoke of his son Todd’s pride in serving the country. Todd lost his life in service to the country.
The program ended with a ceremony in the Memorial Gardens.
Graebner Elementary - Students created a “United We Stand” flag using pictures of more than 545 of students. They also displayed over 100 flags outside to celebrate Veterans Day.
