Veterans Day Post November 5, 2014

From Left to right Mr. Williams, Mr Mason, Mr Wronko, Alfonso Freda, Icelyn Griffith, Wilbur V. Martin, Che’Czar Lovett, George Reed, Lou Parisi, Mr. Caprini, Mr Cuccurullo

Asbury Park Middle School Veterans Day Assembly

On November 5, 2014 Desert Storm veteran, Mr. Cuccurullo, special education teacher in social studies, Mr. Wronko, social studies teacher, Mr. Schneider, social studies teacher, and Mr. Mason, science teacher, along with Icelyn Griffith and Che’Czar Lovett, Asbury Park Middle School students, had an assembly for veterans from World War II, the Korean War (Forgotten War), and the Vietnam War. Those veterans were Lou Parisi, World War II veteran, Alfonso Freda, Korean War veteran, George Reed, Vietnam veteran, and Wilbur V. Martin, Vietnam veteran.

This assembly consisted of an introduction by Dr. Lewis, Asbury Park Middle School principal. Throughout his introduction, Dr. Lewis reminded the audience how important these veterans were and that they should be honored because without them we would not have our freedom. From there Icelyn Griffith and Che’Czar presented power point presentations on World War One, World War II, Korean War, Vietnam War, Desert Storm, war in Afghanistan, and the war in Iraq.

At the end of each power point presentation the veterans spoke about their experiences as well as promoting an end to all wars and establishing an ever lasting peace. After the veterans gave their presentations, they took questions from the audience. Some of the questions they answered dealt with enduring the hardships of war, being away from their families and friends, and establishing a life after their service.

To close the assembly, Mr. Williams, 5th grade teacher and veteran, took time to talk about his experience in the National Guard. He informed the audience that after the events of 9/11/01, he was called for duty and he had to report to New York City. Mr. Williams informed the audience that when he received the phone call around 2:00 or 3:00 a.m. in the morning he knew it was not a drill. After Mr. Williams spoke, the veterans along with student and teachers took pictures.

On a final note, Mr. Parham, Desert Storm veteran and Asbury Park Middle School vice principal, gave one of Mr. Wronko’s social studies classes a special presentation regarding the Soldier’s Creed. He explained to the students when he was in the military he stayed truthful to the following:

I am an American Soldier.
I am a warrior and a member of a team.
I serve the people of the United States, and live the Army Values.
I will always place the mission first.
I will never accept defeat.
I will never quit.
I will never leave a fallen comrade.
I am disciplined, physically and mentally tough, trained and proficient in my warrior tasks and drills.
I always maintain my arms, my equipment and myself.
I am an expert and I am a professional.
I stand ready to deploy, engage, and destroy, the enemies of the United States of America in close combat.
I am a guardian of freedom and the American way of life.
I am an American Soldier.

Mr. Parham reminded students that they also say a similar creed in the morning which was the Learners Creed. He encouraged them that they should also stay truthful to the creed they say every morning because the words in their respectable creeds, Soldiers or Learners, could make you into a great person.
Thanks goes out to music teacher Ms. Friedman for allowing for her music room to be used to help with the assembly, Mr. Caprioni for setting up the projector so that the power point presentations could be displayed with sound, Mr. Goldfarb and Sean, custodians, for setting up and putting away the seats of this event, and Mr. White and Ms. Marquardt for allowing their students to attend this assembly. Also thanks goes out to Dr. Lewis, Mr. Parham, and Mrs. Del Orbe for their ongoing support.

Pictures were taken by Mr. Kames.

From Left to right, George Reed, James Parham, Lou Parisi