Today is Veteran's Day, but apparently, it is also Take a Vet to School Day... so I did just that, and took Hubby to work with me! He graciously agreed to come to school and talk to our three 6th grade classes about his time in the military. He put together some slide shows of various pictures of places he has been; the Middle East, Greece, El Salvador for example. He told them all of how he signed up when he was 18, went to bootcamp and other trainings in TX and CA before being sent to his first duty station in Japan.
They were fascinated by his time recently in the Middle East, or at least what he told them of it. Thankfully he left out many of the less pleasant details of the area while still impressing upon them the seriousness of what is going on over there. He took some Iraqi money, some money from the United Arab Nations, as well as some Bahrain money and his plates from his vest to show just how heavy they are. 
He also showed them pictures of his most recent 6 month deployment to El Salvador. My school is in a low socio-economic area and they don't always seem to appreciate what they do have. That is, until Hubby showed them pictures of the public school in El Salvador with no glass in the windows, no AC, and no fans. The cafeteria is a wood burning stove outside with a few picnic tables and their bathrooms are also little more than outhouses missing 1/2 the roof.
Some tough questions were asked such as "Have you ever killed anyone?" and "Do you know anyone who has died?" The true answer to both of those is "yes, unfortunately" and he answered them very diplomatically without romanticizing war or killing and even put it back on them. When the question of "Have you killed anyone" was asked, he asked them why it was important to know. They all agreed eventually that it wasn't important to know and it isn't a fun thing to have to do even when you have to do it to save yourself or others.
I'm very proud of my husband and what he has done, as I am proud of all of the men and women serving our country. My brother is currently in Navy bootcamp. My father was in Vietnam. I have 2 uncles in the Air Force. One of my grandfathers was in the Navy. One of my husband's grandfather's was in the Air Force and the other was in the Navy. I have many many friends who are currently in the military. God Bless you all!!
Read the history of Veteran's Day here.
2 comments:
That is so great! We didn't have school today, so this was not an option. Sounds like a very worthwhile experience for you all, though!
Jen
http://www.100DaystoChristmas.com
We weren't supposed to have school today but it was a make-up day for a tropical storm that flooded our area and closed school for a week ealier in the year. I think the kids really got a lot out of it though :)
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