NewsVietnam vets take center stage at middle schoolBy Cindy Iutzi/Gate City Staff WriterHundreds of students and their teachers, veterans and area residents honored servicemen and women Tuesday at the 16th annual Veterans Assembly at Keokuk Middle School.
Veterans of U.S. wars and times of peace sat near a display of chairs draped with the flags of each branch of the armed forces, the Iowa flag and a POW-MIA flag. An empty chair next to the POW-MIA flag “is for you students in the bleachers (who may choose to serve in the military),” explained middle school Principal Steve Carman. “We may not be around to thank you, so we want to thank you ahead of time.” The Vietnam War was the focus of the more than hour-long assembly, which included two videos, a brief historical timeline presented by Carman and readings about the Pledge of Allegiance, loyalty, respect, honor, service and integrity by several students. Middle school student Ron Dorsey read an excerpt from an account of Sen. John McCain's prisoner of war experience to illustrate the significance of the pledge. McCain said one of his fellow prisoners in the Vietnam prisoner of war camp made a American flag from bits of cloth and sewed it to the inside of his shirt. The fellow, Mike, would hang the shirt on the wall in secret so prisoners could say the Pledge of Allegiance together, which McCain described as the most important part of their day. One day, prison guards searched the cell as they did periodically and discovered the flag. The guards destroyed the flag and beat the man for hours, according to McCain's account. The prisoner was then returned to the cell. With his eyes swollen partially shut from the beating, Mike sat down and began to make another American flag, Dorsey read. Dorsey lead the assembly in the Pledge of Allegiance, after which middle school students Sam Sprunger, Trevor Roth, Trenton Humphrey, Jennifer Brown and Jenna Kite read their presentations to the crowd. Humphrey's reading about respect was placed in the setting of a battlefield in Vietnam. Soldiers were fleeing the Viet Cong, racing through the jungle while dragging and carrying their wounded and dead to Huey helicopters that landed in a clearing amid heavy enemy fire. “We knew we had to get out of there or risk all of us dying, but out of respect we never wanted to leave anyone behind,” Humphrey read. “Even though times like these trigger your sense of survival and you do what you have to do to protect yourself, you don't leave anyone behind if at all possible. We are all Americans who are fighting for America.” Carman announced the name of each veteran attending the assembly and one by one the veterans stood, men and women, facing the students on the bleachers. Veterans are the embodiment of the definition of hero - not role models, but heroes, Carman said. Jim Gross of Keokuk, a former resident of Texas, sat quietly in the audience on a small blue mobility device next to his wife Norma. Gross served in the U.S. Air Force from 1958 to 1978. During the Vietnam War, the staff sergeant was a combat operative assigned to the U.S. Marines. Gross had “three tours in-country,” he said. According to Norma, Gross has health problems caused by exposure to Agent Orange in Vietnam. Agent Orange is a herbicide and defoliant used during the Vietnam War by the United States to clear plant-life in jungle areas that might be used as cover or food by the Viet Cong. Gross said the war changed him “like it changed everybody else.” During a video about the Vietnam Memorial in Washington, D.C., Gross, like everybody else in the audience, saw people's smiles of recognition turn to tears when a certain name was located on the memorial; watched someone's loved one raise a hand and trace a name on the gleaming, black granite; and bore witness to people dwarfed by the long memorial wall give and receive comfort in their mutual sorrow. Gross, like many others in the darkened gym, had a tear gently trace a narrow, glistening line down his face. Steve Andrews of Keokuk served in the U.S. Army in Vietnam in 1967 as a Spec. 5 combat infantry medic. During his duty, he saw much he'd have rather not seen. “The service always changes people,” he said. “It made me grow up.” One of the things that lingers with Andrews is the way soldiers were treated by their fellow countrymen when they returned home from Vietnam. He became embittered by the experience. “Back in that day, the military was not looked on well,” his brother-in-law Robert Dye explained. In 1968, Dye served in the U.S. Army as a sergeant in Korea in the artillery. Dr. Arthur Mardis, Keokuk, found a better America when he served in the U.S. Navy from 1976-1980. He was an E-4 on the carrier, USS Ranger. Mardis had shore duty in naval communications and cruised the Western Pacific in 1979 on the carrier. “It made me appreciate America a lot more, because I grew up in the South and in Chicago,” Mardis said. “I grew up in segregated America. In the service they treat you for what you do, not who you are.” Jeff McClain, Keokuk, was in the U.S. Army from 1986 to 1994 as a Spec. 4 combat engineer construction specialist. He served in Desert Shield and in Desert Storm in Iraq and Kuwait. “The Army showed me the meaning of discipline and respect,” McClain said. “It made me more of a man.” Bob Gutting of Wyaconda, Mo., served in the U.S. Army from 1941 to 1946 during World War II. Tech Cpl. Gutting's jobs included dispatcher - assigning vehicles; and transportation - delivering fuel to the front lines. He will never forget his service, and the men he served with during the war. The middle school band performed several patriotic numbers under the direction of Craig Bullis, band teacher and veteran. Emily Barrett, a senior at Keokuk High School, played “America the Beautiful” on the piano. A moment of silence and the rendition of “America” by Ray Charles ended the assembly. Copyright © 2010 - Daily Gate City
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