The program for the annual Veterans Day event at James Hart School on Monday, Nov. 11, continued the tradition of giving students a chance to thank and honor veterans for their service.
District 153 Superintendent Scott McAlister served as host for the event. He reminded the gathered veterans why the school started the event.
“Traditionally, Veterans Day is a day where schools are closed,” he said. “A few years ago, we decided the best way to honor our veterans was to invite (them) to come out to a flag raising and a school assembly, where we teach our kids about the history of Veterans Day and we talk about the branches of our military, so people can have an appreciation of each branch and the people who have served our country.”
He credited band director Matt Johnson for helping initiate the event.
There were a couple of changes to the program from previous years.
John Beele, commander of the Wally Burns VFW Post, who has long been the speaker and representative of veterans at community events, including the James Hart Veterans Day assembly, was out of town and unavailable, according to fellow VFW member Don Tollefsen.
In Beele’s stead, veteran and James Hart industrial arts teacher Tom Jaminski offered remarks during the assembly.
Jaminski responded to the common question veterans hear, “Why did you serve?” Service means helping somebody, he said.
“So when you’re serving in the military, you’re not just helping somebody, you’re helping the United States of America,” he said. “The word that most comes to mind, for me, is the sacrifice.”
He said servicemembers sacrifice their time and sometimes their health or even their lives. They give up time with families and friends, miss birthdays, anniversaries and other important events. Stress can affect marriages. Some are injured physically, some emotionally.
“Scars of the heart, scars of the soul that will never, ever heal. So why did we do it?” he said. “I did it for my brothers. I served and I sacrificed for them, and in that service the greater good of this country was served.”
On behalf of the students and staff of the school, Jaminski thanked the veterans seated before him and wished them a happy Veterans Day.
Another new feature this year: “Lift Every Voice and Sing” was on the choir’s program along with the “Star-Spangled Banner.”
Johnson explained the addition.
“As many of you no doubt know, that second song, ‘Lift Every Voice and Sing,’ is often referred to as the Black national anthem,” he said.
Johnson told the students that the song was written by James Weldon Johnson in 1900. It was among the songs used as a rallying cry during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s, he said.
The program included elements from past events, including a slide show with photos of veterans who are related to students or staff members of James Hart, brief histories of the national anthem and of each of the nation’s six military branches.
Johnson introduced the national anthem history, providing the context in which Frances Scott Key wrote the words.
“Students, how many of you have a parent who’s older than 40? If your hand is up right now, and you were alive at this time, your parent would literally be older than the United States.” He noted that some Americans at the time still had living relatives who had fought during the Revolutionary War.
He then played a Smithsonian Institution short film describing Key’s detainment by the British on a warship in Baltimore harbor which was part of a naval force bombarding Fort Henry, and his inspiration upon seeing the U.S. flag still waving over the fort the following morning.
McAlister provided a history of Veterans Day, including its origins as Armistice Day, which recognized the cessation of fighting at the end of World War I.
He listed the branches of the military founded before the country had been created: The Army, Navy and Marine Corp in 1775, to the most recent Space Force founded in 2019.
“If you look in the sky at night, you see satellites everywhere. The fear is, enemies of our country can use satellites to cause harm to us, so we created the Space Force with the thinking that cybersecurity and satellite protection is important. My guess is, that branch will be growing.”
McAlister also urged students to be aware that they could be encountering veterans and not realize it. He introduced 2006 James Hart graduate James Hill, who works at Homewood-Flossmoor High School, as an example.
