COVINGTON TWP, Pa., Oct. 25, 2024 – The brave people who served our country must always be honored and remembered. Since November 11th is Veterans Day, the North Pocono high school holds a program every year to honor those alive and deceased who fought for America. This year’s Veterans Day program is on November 8th, and it is very touching to teachers and students who personally know a veteran, and even to those who don’t know someone in the military.
The yearly Veterans Day program is a meaningful way to tell the stories of people who fought and made sacrifices for us. History teacher Mrs. Rickard runs this event and agrees that it holds much importance at the high school. “The Veterans Day Program at North Pocono is always a very meaningful one,” she claims. “Each year we host speakers who tell stories of the sacrifices made by themselves and others as United States service members. This year, we have a North Pocono graduate and former Navy sailor coming to speak about everyday service.” These speakers’ experiences and sacrifices in the military will not go unheard of after the program. There is no doubt that Veterans Day, the reason for the program, is an important day on the calendar. Unfortunately, this holiday is often in the shadows of more popular ones. Mrs. Rickard states, “All of our service members, past, present, and future, deserve to be remembered year after year.” Considering she comes from a military family, with her brother actively serving in the Army, this time of the year is close to her heart.
To make the program even more meaningful, the North Pocono music department will be performing and honoring our soldiers through music. Freshman chorus member Cai Cephas claims, “It means a lot that we get to be a part of that.” The chorus ensemble has been working hard to learn songs that will honor our veterans, and they are looking forward to seeing their joyful reactions. Cai believes that this part of the program is important because “the veterans get to see how much they actually mean to us, and how much their dedication means to the kids in school.” This definitely means a lot to Cai considering she has a cousin serving in the military, and she is looking forward to singing with the chorus during the program.
Several students at North Pocono have family members who served in the military and are true heroes. Junior Irelyn Lankford knows how important Veterans Day really is because of knowing someone who was in the military. “My grandfather served in the Army during my mother’s childhood.” she said. “I think that celebrating Veterans Day is extremely important because the veterans and those who didn’t make it back home were extremely brave to put their lives on the line to protect our freedom, and to help those from other countries.” The VFW (Veterans of Foreign Wars) program, along with the school’s program, honors those who dedicated their lives to serving our country and faced the struggles that came with it.
The Veterans Day program in November will include special guest speakers telling their stories and the North Pocono music department performing in the veterans’ honor. This day of remembrance is often overlooked, so it is important to realize that many brave men and women help keep our country safe. The upcoming program will remind teachers and students to honor those who fought for the red, white, and blue!
