Elementary, Secondary Students Honor Veterans
West Hills Intermediate sixth-graders wave their American flags while saying ‘thank you’ to veterans who attended their school assembly yesterday.
by Jonathan Weaver
Kristopher Lynch hasn’t seen his father, U.S. Army Staff Sergeant Kevin, since July.
The West Hills Intermediate fourth-grader had to say goodbye to his father before school started so Staff Sergeant Lynch could serve in Kuwait.
But, Kristopher got a big surprise during the school’s Veterans Day assembly yesterday when Staff Sergeant Lynch’s face displayed over a video projector.
Kristopher’s grandmother, Paula, and mother, Sommer Cunningham, both said the short video message shown yesterday was “very emotional” – even though Cunningham knew the moment was coming at the end of the 40-minute assembly.
“I know how hard Kristopher has had with his dad going,” Cunningham said.
And Cunningham saw that her 10-year-old son from West Kittanning enjoyed it – displaying a thumbs-up only a few feet away.
“His face lit up when he saw his dad up there,” Cunningham said.
Staff Sergeant Lynch recorded the message November 7.
Paula said Staff Sergeant Lynch – who has served in the U.S. Army Reserves for the past 12 years – is expected to be overseas for at least a year. It is his first overseas deployment.
Although she said the family only had 30 days to prepare for his deployment, Paula –of Pittsburgh - is thankful they all can communicate via Skype with Staff Sergeant Lynch weekly.
“You can see that they’re physically OK, so that puts your mind at-ease,” Paula said.
PTO President Deanna Wise and Recording Secretary Andrea Shirey organized the video message – which they thought was “very heartfelt.”
“We didn’t realize we had a student whose father was on active duty, so when we heard from (Kristopher’s) mother and grandmother, that’s when we got the ball rolling to see if we could get the message in,” Wise said.
The school assembly also recognized nearly 60 other U.S. Army, Navy, Marine and Air Force veterans in-attendance with a breakfast, poems and songs and applause.
Veterans were also honored at Armstrong Junior-Senior High Tuesday morning.
More than 40 Creative Writing and World History students organized the program for all students – including stories shared by three local veterans while others sat in the audience.
Stories were shared on the auditorium stage by U.S. Navy veteran James Boarts, of Manorville, former U.S. Army Sergeant Amanda Bowser, of Worthington, and former U.S. Army Private Travis Reesman – who graduated from West Shamokin High in 2012.
Bowser – who served in the U.S. Army National Guard a total of 12 years and was deployed to Iraq in 2008 - was invited to speak by her daughter, Ayla Rosensteel– an Armstrong sophomore.
Rosensteel, a Creative Writing student, said her mother was overseas while she was in third grade.
“It was hard not having someone like her around to talk to,” Rosensteel said. “I had my grandma, but it was weird not having (Bowser) around. I missed her a lot.”
Bowser’s message Tuesday morning asked students to not take anything for granted and encouraged them to think about their freedoms while they enjoy today’s day off school.
“When I was a teenager, I didn’t think much of Veterans’ Day. I just thought ‘Hey, awesome – another day off school,’ but as I became older, I realized these men and women gave their lives in battle so we could have the opportunities in life – the choice of what to wear, what to eat, what religion to practice.
“There are a lot of things that I think people take for granted in life and don’t realize that can be taken away at any time,” Bowser said. “Especially if you’re over in Iraq or some foreign country, you don’t have those amenities. Things change real quick in what really means something to you.”
Rosensteel hears her mother’s message often.
“She tells me all the time ‘You need to be grateful for what you have.’ She tells me ‘You don’t realize what it’s like – I’ve seen what it’s like when people don’t have it as good as we do.’ (It makes me) stop and think about it.”
Bowser, formerly a military intelligence analyst and combat nurse, is currently a Sugar Creek Rest Infection Control Nurse.
Reesman was never deployed overseas, but said the time he served made an impression. Most of his duty included with a medical relief team in Colorado.
“It was definitely a life-changing experience. I met a lot of different people – whether it was going through basic training or soldiers when I got to my job training -, a lot of great people that I still talk to now even though they’re all over the country,” Reesman said.
Reesman is currently enrolled at Butler County Community College and will transfer to Slippery Rock University this Spring to study sports management.
While the three shared their stories, a dozen other veterans sat in the audience.
Former U.S. Army Sergeant Amanda Bowser spoke to a crowd of Armstrong Junior-Senior High students during Tuesday morning’s assembly. She is pictured with her daughter, Ayla - a Creative Writing student who invited her to speak.
Armstrong School District | jweaver November 11, 2015
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