It's Pride and Patriotism As Tyee Park Students Celebrate Veterans Day

One song vowed that its singers would “always be American, and always cry American tears.”

And American tears were definitely shed Thursday afternoon during annual – and final – Veterans Day assembly, planned by fine-arts teacher Tracey Lundquist.

In addition to Tyee Park students and staff, the gym was packed with local military members, both active and retired, local law-enforcement officials, Lt. Gov. Brad Owen and guest of honor U.S. Air Force Col. Joe Jackson.

And most memorably, the veterans present included five Pearl Harbor survivors, one of which was sung to in celebration of his 94th birthday, and a quartet of Tuskegee Airmen.

The afternoon kicked off with a rousing performance by the Joint Base Lewis-McChord 56th Army Band, the Soldiers of Swing.

Then Lundquist stepped to the microphone.

“The theme of this year’s celebration is freedom,” she said. “Freedom demands a price. It is horrific and eternal.”

As for the tears, all it took was 100 little kids dressed in red, white and blue and singing to the quintet of men who survived the deadly attack on Pearl Harbor 70 years ago this December.

“Seventy years ago; that’s longer than any of you have been alive,” Lundquist addressed the children gathered around her. “I don’t think we’ve even hit the 10-year mark.”

The assembly, which Tyee Park has put on for 25 years, marked the end of an era – and evoked emotion in Lundquist as she introduced Jackson.

“This is full circle,” she said. “Joe was my first speaker, and he’ll be my last speaker.”

Jackson, a career officer in the Air Force, received the Medal of Honor during the Vietnam War for a dangerous impromptu rescue operation of three American military personnel. A video presentation created by Lundquist’s uncle and son displayed the accomplishments that earned him the nation’s highest award for military valor.

“God was the aircraft commander,” he is heard saying about the May 12, 1968 rescue mission near Kham Duc, South Vietnam, in which he flew a C-123 Provider.

In his remarks to the students, Jackson explained the importance of citizenship and patriotism, which he explained as “loving a country – not ho-hum loving it, but actively doing something for it and (being) people who live, people who work and people who have sacrificed for the good of the country.”

To prepare for such responsibility, Jackson said that the children must learn to do certain things: obey their parents, make their beds in the morning, learn to tell the truth and know the difference between right and wrong.

“That doesn’t sound like much, does it?” he asked.

And, as they grow older, he requested, “Vote – and vote intelligently, based on the education you’re getting now, and later in life.”

There was also a special tribute to Gen. John Shalikashvili, a long-time attendee of Tyee Park’s assembly who died in July.

Tyee Park’s students also performed songs about a soldier killed in war, the American flag, Yankee Doodle and were featured in a video presentation about the letters they have sent to soldiers in Afghanistan.

One of the easiest ways to remember those serving our country is by writing letters, Lundquist explained.

“They mean a lot,” she said. “In those letters, we talk about the familiarities of home, and it lets our troops know they are not alone.”

She drew upon the parallels of Pearl Harbor and the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in discussing the country’s patriotism, shortly before the students broke into the emotional lyrics of “American Tears.”

The Studio Chamber Choir also performed an a cappella version of “Pie Jesu.”

During the assembly, Michael Reagan of the Fallen Heroes Project presented the school with a framed print of a bald eagle with an American flag, as well as a hand-drawn portrait of Lundquist.

Through artwork, Reagan’s mission is to bring home the souls of the lost soldiers.

“It’s not about politics,” he said, “it’s about love and respect.”