In honor of Veteran’s Day, West Morris Central welcomed twelve veterans to the school library on November 17 to share their experiences with students. After all of the veterans introduced themselves and before they split off into groups, Olivia Eden sung the national anthem.
Many of the veterans served in the Army or Navy. All of the veterans talked about their stories and their background of why they decided to join the military. Many either went right after high school or they started college then decided they would be better off in the military. Many of the veterans were WMC alumni, or worked here or had/has family here. Despite having different jobs and backgrounds, they all had two things in common at the end of the day. They enjoyed helping and protecting the country, and they don’t regret their decision.
Many of the heroes actually went back to school after serving in the military or continued with their education while serving and were able to get a job when they were done. They described how they lived, how they worked, and what exactly they had to do in their selected service. They even spoke about how sometimes it was hard to get up and do the same things everyday and how they needed to always have discipline. Each person had to train daily and had to do extra jobs when needed. Despite everything, they still loved defending the country. They now enjoy having reunions with the people they shared these circumstances with.
When the veterans split off into groups, they answered questions that students had and continued to talk about their experiences and perspective of the military. One veteran advised, “If you don’t know what you want to do, there is always the military because it accepts everyone and helps you figure out who you are and where you belong.” He also stated, “Enjoy your life, be productive and be a team player.”
The veterans that visited the school were Tom McBride, Navy Commander of Post 1776; Don Cable, Navy1963 (the oldest member of Korean War veteran); Larry Oppel, Navy 1963 WMC graduate); Charlie Davidson, Navy; John Larkin, Navy, and Vietnam veteran; Rod Della Salla, Navy; Ken Short, Army and National Guard; Tim Kelly, Army and National Guard; Bernie Schettino, Army and National Guard; John Krayniak, Army; Ed Twomey, Army and Vietnam veteran; and Chuck Dauchert, Army and Vietnam veteran.
