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On Tuesday, the day at Barr Middle School ended with Gov. Dave Heineman, Secretary of State John Gale and Brig. Gen. Tim Kadavy applauding a small group of eighth-graders.
Their applause was not only for those students, but for the entire eighth-grade class and perhaps for previous eighth-grade classes for their "Honor a Veteran" ceremony.
Gale has attended several events over the years and was so impressed that he wanted to use Barr Middle School as a model for other schools throughout the state to emulate.
The three state officials announced the program at a press conference conducted in the Barr auditorium and attended by the school's eighth-graders.
Gale noted that one of his chief duties is to oversee elections in Nebraska. Consequently, he tracks voting participation trends and other indicators of civic engagement.
He said he is sometimes discouraged by a rising lack of civic involvement by young people.
Gale said he is impressed with how Barr eighth-graders come up with the names of people in their families or acquaintances who they know who are either active members of the military or veterans.
Students were encouraged to talk to family members about people who are in the military and who are veterans, then compile a list of those names. People on the list are then invited to the "Honor a Veteran" program held each Veterans Day at Barr Middle School.
Barr teachers Greg Morrow and Jason Weaver were recognized for their roles in creating the program.
During his turn speaking at the press conference, Morrow credited his team of teachers with developing the program. He said he first came up with the idea after visiting the Vietnam Memorial in Washington, D.C.
The memorial is inscribed with the names of all the service people who were killed during the Vietnam War. That's when Morrow thought about having students compile lists of veterans in their families and acquaintances.
"It's all about the names," said Morrow, who said he and the other teachers thought that would make Veterans Day more meaningful to the students.
During the ceremony, the names of students and veterans on their lists are read. Both students and veterans stand to be recognized.
Gale said he believes the program can serve as a model for the state. He said material on Barr's "Honor A Veteran" program has been sent to more than 400 schools in Nebraska.
He said there are 50,000 veterans in Nebraska, so there are veterans in every community in the state.
Heineman said that he attended the Military Academy at West Point and then served five years in the U.S. Army. He rose to the rank of captain during his military career.
The governor noted the sacrifices made by people serving in the military, as well as their families.
"The price of freedom is not always free," said Heineman, who noted the United States has an all-volunteer military. "Everyone who serves does it because they want to. They want to protect the lives of all of us."
Kadavy said one thing that makes all branches of the U.S. military unique is the oath that service people take. They do not promise to protect a king, a political party or even land. He said they take an oath to protect the Constitution of the United States of America.
He noted that the U.S. Constitution begins with the words, "We, the people." That means the power of the government and of the military flows from the people.
After the formal press conference, Gale, Heineman and Kadavy spoke with a smaller group of eighth-graders who stayed behind in the auditorium. The students were selected in part because of the number of names they had submitted for the Honor a Veteran program.
Heineman talked about his experiences at West Point and in the military. He said it was a great way to see the country and the world. He said that when he first went to West Point, he was afraid he would not be able to compete with people from big cities. But Heineman, who graduated from Wahoo High School, discovered he got a "grade A education in Nebraska."
Kadavy said that his travels through the world have made him appreciate the freedoms and rights that Americans enjoy in this country.
When the trio finished speaking, they applauded the students for being a part of the Honor a Veteran program.
PoreB 3/4/08
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