Students come face to face with history
Eagle Grove ceremony thanks veterans for their sacrificesBy SANDY MICKELSON, Messenger staff writer
Article Photos
EAGLE GROVE - A Veterans Day ceremony Tuesday afternoon at the Robert Blue Middle School in Eagle Grove brought roughly 300 high school students face to face with history.
The entire student body filed into the middle school auditorium to pay honor to veterans of the wars since World War II, including the Korean Conflict, Vietnam, the Persian Gulf War and Operation Enduring Freedom.
Servicemen and women and their spouses were led in procession to seats of honor as the high school band played each branch's song. Red, white and blue paper bunting stretched across the stage, the colors repeating in a banner on the front of the podium - everything silently saying "thank you, we're proud of you."
Patriotism flowed as veterans gathered for a short reception before the program. They sat together, talking and laughing. Waiting.
Ethel Frakes and Mary Lou Johnson stopped at the registration table to check in with Diane Baluczynski, one of those in charge of the ceremony. Frakes' late husband, Charles, served in the Army during World War II in the Pacific, the Philippines and Japan. Her brother, Leslie Kubly, of Lu Verne, also served in the Army, as did Charles' four brothers. One brother, Earl, was a prisoner of war.
"He never talked about the war," Frakes said of her husband. "Not until the Gulf War. Then he was bedfast, and his brother, Royce, would come over and they'd watch the war on the big screen. They'd say things like, 'If we'd had that equipment, we could have ...'"
She doesn't remember what they could have done, but was happy to hear him talk about the war. It's not good, she said, for those memories to fester.
Johnson's brother, Ronald Kist, served with the Marines in Vietnam. Now living in Arkansas, he "won't say a word about being over there," she said. "He just clams up. He does have bad eyes and hearing loss from the war."
Every veteran has a story. Many are willing to share.
For instance, Gerald Johansen, of Eagle Grove, who served with the U.S. Marine Corps in Korea, said Tuesday's ceremony meant a lot to him and it brought back memories of his service, but it also made him think of his granddaughter, Sgt. Kristin Johansen, of Latimer, who has served in Iraq and Iran on three tours and now is stationed in Alaska.
Johnson said he's lucky to be walking around now since three helicopters he rode in crashed - one in the Mohave Desert on a training mission, and two in Korea.
High School Principal Scott Jeske said this Veterans Day program has been going on in Eagle Grove for 10 years, planned every other year by high school or middle school students and teachers. This year the high school was in charge.
"When it started, we just felt we had kids who didn't understand or appreciate the sacrifices these men and women made," Jeske said. "We wanted to impact them. It was so well-received by veterans and they appreciated it so much, it became a tradition."
Michelle Buseman, high school Spanish teacher and sponsor of the Student Council, called the ceremony "a good awareness program. A lot of the students don't realize how many people have fought. And they're learning about honor and putting others before yourself."
Dozens of servicemen and women listened to Eagle Grove Mayor Ray Kellogg talk about the freedom to hope. "The veterans in this auditorium provided that hope. ... Look forward, but remember the past, and never give up hope."
Keynote speaker State Rep. McKinley Bailey, D-Webster City, a five-year veteran himself, finished his speech by telling the students, "it's about you understanding and contemplating what our veterans, young and old, have given up for you. Then do something about it, and live up to your potential to make the world a better place, not just for yourself, but for everyone."
It is reported that George Washington once said the willingness of young people to fight is directly proportional to how veterans are treated. If that's the case, the two young men who presented the colors at the start of the ceremony must have seen veterans treated well.
Kyle Schmauss, a 2006 graduate of Eagle Grove High School and son of Dave and Barb Schmauss, of Eagle Grove, is a Marine Reserve, a third-generation military man. He expects to be deployed to either Iraq or Afghanistan in April or June.
His father, he said, earned a Purple Heart while serving with the Army in Vietnam. His grandfather, the late Frederick Schmauss, earned two Purple Hearts in World War II.
Serving his country is likely to be a career choice for him, he said.
While Schmauss presented the American flag, Eagle Grove High School junior Nathan Mork, of Webster City, presented the state flag. Mork will graduate in 2010, but already has enlisted as a chaplain assistant and will take training next summer. After graduation, he will serve full time.
"Ever since fourth grade, I've wanted to join," he said. "I had an uncle with the Special Forces, my grandpa was in the National Guard and my great-aunt was in the Navy. I've always had the feeling I'd rather die for my country and those I love rather than live for myself."
His parents, Corrie and Shioloh Mork, told him to do what he wanted to do and signed the parental consent for him to join the service. He's hoping to make the service a career as a chaplain.
Tuesday's ceremony brought together veterans of foreign wars and peacetime veterans. All were honored.
"It just makes you feel good to show respect for service people gone and those serving now," Frakes said.
Johnson agreed. "We always come. It just feels like a duty almost."
Contact Sandy Mickelson at (515) 573-2141 or smickelson@messengernews.net
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Anderson
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11-12-08 5:33 PM
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Congratulations, Eagle Grove - teachers and all others involved. This should be replicated elsewhere.
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