“I’ve lost friends in Iraq and Afghanistan,” Pat Farley, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran, said Monday afternoon at Webster City High School during a Veterans Day assembly. “I remember 20 years ago becoming a Marine and it’s days like today that bring back those emotions.”

Farley is the school’s assistant principal.

“The sacrifice we paid is known only to a select few,” Farley said. “As we reflect on the year, it’s a great time to reflect on those sacrifices.”

He added, “Life is about experiences. About taking on successful things and saying that I am glad I was a part of that.”

-Messenger photo by Chad Thompson
Bob Erickson, an Iowa Army National Guard veteran, at right, stands next to Dave Gordon, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran, during a Veterans Day assembly at Webster City High School Monday afternoon.

Farley thanked the veterans for being there and the audience for being respectful.

Drake Doolittle, Webster City High School National Honor Society president, explained the significance of an empty seat next to a table.

“The table is set for one,” he said. “It symbolizes members our armed forces who are missing from our ranks.”

He said the white table cloth symbolizes the purity of their intentions.

“The American flag reminds us many will never return,” Doolittle said. “May us never forget their sacrifice.”

-Messenger photo by Chad Thompson
Rich Stroner, a U.S. Air Force and Iowa Army National Guard veteran, speaks during a Veterans Day assembly at Webster City High School Monday afternoon.

Rich Stroner, a U.S. Air Force and Iowa Army National Guard veteran, spoke about his time in the service.

“I spent a lot of years in the military,” Stroner said. “A lot of years away from here.”

Stroner said he elected to go into the service.

“It was at the height of Vietnam,” he said.

Stroner spent one year in electronics school.

-Messenger photo by Chad Thompson
Veterans stand in honor as their names are called during a Veterans Day assembly at Webster City High School Monday afternoon.

When he finished his schooling, he graduated with a class of 14. Some were sent to Vietnam, some were sent elsewhere.

“We had to fill out a dream sheet,” Stroner said. “They asked you where you wanted to be sent, and then they made sure you went somewhere else. I went to a mountain top in Montana.”

Part of Stroner’s assignments required top security clearance, he said.

Later he was sent to the Philippines.

His job included listening to what was said over radios and helping to decipher it.

-Messenger photo by Chad Thompson
Dave Gordon, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran from Webster City, left, stands during a Veterans Day assembly at Webster City High School Monday afternoon. Bill Peterson, a U.S. Army veteran from Ruthven, stands at right.

“We listened to everything,” he said. “Every bit of info was dissected — this is important, this isn’t important.”

He said that mission was declassified for the first time in 1997.

After reelecting on his service, Stroner said he “can’t say enough about the military.”

“At anytime you could be asked to give up everything you got so people here can maintain the freedoms they enjoy,” he said. “And we do it with honor and lot of times with a heavy heart.”

-Messenger photo by Chad Thompson
Gemma Borer, 15, a sophomore at Webster City High School, performs a patriotic dance with the school’s dance connection team Monday afternoon during a Veterans Day assembly at Webster City High School.

-Messenger photo by Chad Thompson
Students at Webster City High School fill the school’s gymnasium during a Veterans Day assembly Monday afternoon.