Students Learn from Vets at “Invite a Veteran to School Day"

On the Thursday before Veterans Day, nine veterans shared photographs, military memorabilia, stories about their years in the service and even chocolate bars as part of Ossining High School’s 8th annual “Invite a Veteran to School Day.”

The vets were stationed at tables in the OHS library, and students learned what it was like serving on an aircraft carrier, as a tank gunner, in the Army Signal Corps and in other capacities.

“It’s nice to see the young people interested in veterans,” said Louis Dorio, who served in the U.S. Navy from 1966-69. He is a former Harrison police chief. “They were really interested in not only what I did in the service but what I did after the service.”

Ed Cook of Ossining told his story of getting separated from his family as a young boy in Lithuania during World War II. He was sent to an orphanage for several years and ultimately was adopted by an American family. He never forgot the kindness of an American soldier when he was 4. The man gave him a K ration Hershey chocolate bar (and Mr. Cook brought Hershey chocolate bars to share with students). As an American, he joined U.S. Army and served in Germany in the build-up to the Vietnam War.

OHS senior Elvis Becerra said he was moved by the story of Mr. Cook and other veterans. Mr. Cook was adopted and never got to meet his parents, but he served in the U.S. military. “I learned a lot from these vets today,” Elvis said. “I learned that not only are they hard workers but that they were always dedicated from the start.”

Bob Ferguson spoke to students about what it was like to leave Vietnam at the end of his tour in the Army Signal Corps. “As soon as that plane lifts off the ground and that pilot says to us, ‘We are now out of South Vietnamese air space. We are over international waters,’ there was a sense of exhilaration, of like ‘God, we got out of there, God, we’re going home. I can’t believe I’m going home,’” Mr. Ferguson said. “It’s a feeling you can’t describe, and let me tell you, it hits you emotionally.”

A lot had changed in the time he had been away in the army, Mr. Ferguson said, including music and his friends. “You’re a little vigilant now because you don’t want to go into crowds,” he said of his experience at the time. “Nobody here has my back. My buddies aren’t with me.”

Joseph Sabia of the American Veterans Historical Museum, a Hudson Valley-based organization, displayed uniforms, military equipment, magazines from the Vietnam War era and Kool-Aid packets. He explained that families sent Kool-Aid to soldiers to mask the taste of the iodine present in their water purification kits.

Junior P.J. Chambers said she was impressed by Robert Somerville’s story of his service in the U.S. Navy during the Vietnam War.

“He went through a lot. It was very inspirational to see what he went through,” she said of the Ossining veteran.