Thank You Veterans

Veterans Day was observed on Thursday. It would have been nice to have had that day off of school (mainly selfishly, because Thursday ended up being a rough day at school...) but we didn't. However, the principal at the school that I was subbing at did take some time to mention that it was Veterans Day over the morning announcements and reminded the students that they should honor those who serve and have served in the military to preserve our freedom. In part because my substitute lesson plans were a little on the "lite" side and in part because I thought it would be interesting to talk about/ hear about, I asked the students in my classes (five classes of six graders) to raise their hand if they wanted to share with the class if they had any family members who are currently serving or were in the military. 

I was a little bit surprised with the number of students who raised their hands (in some classes over the half the class) to share about their military family members. Some mentioned their grandparents/ great grandparents being in WWII, the Vietnam War, even being prisoners of war and many mentioned family members who hadn't seen combat but who had served in one of the armed forces. 

Springboro is located *fairly* close to a large Air Force Base, Wright Patterson AFB, and so we definitely have some military families in our community. Many students named family members who were in non- AF branches of the military though by far, the most prevalent was the Air Force. I was heartened that the students seemed eager and proud to share about their family members being veterans.

Donnie's family has veterans in it. Donnie's dad was in the Air Force and the National Guard. Both of Donnie's grandfathers served in World World II, were stationed overseas, and saw combat. I am grateful for their service and especially those who made the ultimate sacrifice. Freedom (even such as it is today) isn't free. Thank you veterans!

Donnie's maternal grandpa- Paul Uschold. He died before I met him so I never got the chance to know him. Donnie was close to him- Donnie was fortunate to live close to both sets of his grandparents. He was also lucky that both sets of grandparents spent time with him and helped shape him into the man he is today. Jacob's middle name is Paul in honor of Donnie's grandpa.

Donnie's paternal grandpa Irvin Rineer- I did get to meet him, though his health was not great when I knew him; he died a month before Donnie and I were married. Donnie was close to his Grandpa Rineer and was  fortunate to have his grandpa in his life for almost 25 years.