Home » Local News » Garfield County » Veteran Appreciation at Panguitch Elementary
A man in an army uniform visits an elementary school, carrying a small girl.

With lyrics such as “What is more American than baseball? I AM; I AM!” and “I’m proud to be an American, where at least I know I’m free,” students at Panguitch Elementary paid tribute to veterans in their assembly on Friday, November 10. Students escorted 25 local veterans from the Army, Army National Guard, Navy, Navy Nurse Reserves, Medical Service Corps, and Air Force as the men and one woman paraded in front of a large crowd of students and residents.

Of special interest was Ralph Veater, proudly wearing a “WWII Veteran” hat, age 97, the oldest attending veteran, having served in the Philippines. The longest serving veterans in attendance were Casey Charles, who served in the Army for 40 years, and Lamont Olsen, who served in the Medical Service Corp for 42 years. One female veteran, Joanna Harmon, served in the U.S. Navy Nurse Reserves for five years. 

An elderly man in a "WWII Veteran" hat.
Ralph Veater at the assembly. Courtesy of Karen Munson.
An elderly man wearing a navy uniform.
Bruce Haywood, fit and trim in his old uniform. Courtesy of Karen Munson.
An elderly man sitting in a gym audience in a navy uniform.
Casey Charles sits in the audience in his uniform. Casey served in the Army for 20 years! Courtesy of Karen Munson.
A man wearing an army uniform holds a boy's hand as they walk past rows of elementary school kids.
Mike Sherratt walks through the gym past elementary school kids as part of the ceremony on November 10. Courtesy of Karen Munson.

Many of the men were still trim and fit, able to fit in their original uniforms decades after serving, displaying their ribbons and medals with pride.

Similar assemblies throughout the counties honored those who served and sacrificed. Three students at PES won $100 each for their essays on Why Veterans Are Important to Me:

by Kaylee Mecham

Veterans are important to me for many reasons. In this essay I wrote about some of the reasons why they are important to me. They keep our country safe, the sacrifices they make for us, allowing us to have freedom, and how they protect our rights. 

The first thing I appreciate about veterans is how they keep our country safe. This is important to me because they protect all our lives, including mine. They do this by risking their own lives. Their dedication is such a good example to me. 

This leads me to another reason why I appreciate veterans, which is for the sacrifices they make for our country. They not only risk their lives, but they also sacrifice time with their own families and friends. They lose a lot of their freedoms to protect our freedoms. 

Another reason I appreciate veterans is their protection of our freedoms. Freedom is important to me because I am able to say what I want to say, worship however I choose, and my values and ideas are protected. None of those freedoms would be possible without veterans. 

Veterans demonstrate a sense of duty and service to a cause bigger than their own. This commitment to serving others and their country is an example of pride and a reminder of the importance of selflessness they have. 

These reasons I listed above are a few things veterans do for us. Veterans are very important to me and I appreciate the sacrifices they have made. I’m glad I get to go to Washington D.C to learn more about them. I get the amazing experience of laying a wreath on the tomb of an unknown soldier. That is why veterans are important to me.

by Abbi Dodds

Have you ever stood up for someone? If you have, you probably know that sometimes it can be hard and you might not want to do it. That is what veterans did and are still doing, but a hundred times harder. They couldn’t just talk it out, they had to risk their lives and fight for our freedom. Our freedom depends on them, and they have tried their hardest not to let us down. I think veterans are really brave to do that, so we should appreciate them as much as possible, these are some more reasons why. 

One of the many reasons why veterans are important to me is some of them had the option to stay home and be safe or risk their lives at war. Even though the other option was easier, they chose to fight for us. Many of us here today would have stayed home close to our family if we had to choose. If anyone has been or wants to be a veteran, I honor them because of how brave they are to do that. In my opinion that is all it takes to be rendered as brave and courageous. I think we should all push to be as fearless as them. 

Another reason veterans are important to me is because my great-grandfather was a veteran. He went to Korea to help them fight their war. Even though it wasn’t his war, he was fighting for them anyway. While he was there he got really sick. He was in the hospital for a long time. When he finally got back on his feet he was fighting and trying his best not to let Korea down. I think it was special that he did it, not for himself but for others because he cared about them. 

One of the last reasons veterans are really important to me is because they worked and worked to train to fight for us. They did a bunch of work just to prepare for the war so that they were ready to fight for our freedom. Although that was nothing compared to what they would face in the war. It is kind of like getting ready for a big game. You practice as hard as you can, but even though you practiced your hardest you don’t always win. 

Veterans are very important to me for many different reasons. Some of the reasons are they chose to fight for us, I know people who served, and they worked really hard for us. I am glad we have this day to remember them because they are really important to our country. We need to show respect for them and what they did. Those are some reasons why veterans are important to me.

by Chad Walter

Hello my name is Chad Walter and happy Veterans day! Today I will be talking about why Veterans are so important to me. 

First of all I will talk about the importance of Veterans day. Veterans day is important because a lot of people risked their lives for our lives and our country. Also a lot of Veterans had to leave their families hoping to come back to them. Veterans had to have a lot of practice training for the war. Veterans fought a really big fight, and we will never forget these really brave soldiers. To continue, I bet we all had amazing family members who fought for us bravely. Of course we will never forget them and how important they really are and what stuff they brought for us in war. I hope you will always remember them and thank them for all they have done. 

In addition, veterans had trained and practiced the hardest they could to fight for us. Sadly some of them had died while trying to fight for us, but luckily some of them lived. No matter if the veteran is dead or alive we will always remember the hard training and fighting they did for our country. Another thing about veterans is that no matter how hard the veterans worked they had never given up. These soldiers always did what they needed to until they knew that they got the job done. These veterans did the right thing for us, and they knew that they were going to protect us from harm. A lot of that is why none of them gave up. Veterans knew they had one job and that job got done very well by some brave soldiers. Thousands of soldiers came together and risked their lives for their families, this is a very courageous thing to do. I am very glad that we get to have this day to remember all of our veterans who fought for us. It is unbelievable how much the veterans did, and how much they had to learn and practice when fighting. A lot of soldiers had to think and be smart while fighting because you didn’t want to get hurt during war. War is a scary thing, but to the soldiers who fought and got over it did not complain and just fought. I bet many veterans were afraid and a bit scared, but fear did not stop them from saving our country. Veterans were some brave men and women who never gave up and always did what they were supposed to. 

All in all, I hope you all enjoyed this essay about veterans and why they are important to me. So what do you think, how are veterans important to you?

Gage Julander, a senior at PHS, enlisted last March of his junior year and began his training last summer. This is his story of why he has chosen to serve and what his experience has been: “Why I Enlisted in the United States Military.”

The Byway

Feature image caption: Kree Carter holding his daughter, Austy, as he parades past rows of elementary school students. Courtesy of Karen Munson.