Radford High School hosted their first Veteran’s Day Assembly in honor of the veterans within the local area. This is for some of the Radford students who know any veterans, such as your parents or grandparents, and it gives them the opportunity to show the school who their veteran is, so that we could all give thanks for keeping this country safe.      

     “Radford High School has a history of serving the students of military families and also boasts many graduates who have served in the armed forces of our country,” Parent Teacher Student Association (PTSA) Board President Kellee Hearther said.

     As many people know, 65% of the students at Radford have family in the military. Students have been to many different countries while their parent(s) were in the military. Such as France, Germany, London, Italy, Japan and so on. There have also been students who may have never left the states, but have moved from state to state.

     “Moving from place to place, I felt really sad leaving behind people I care for,” Lyssalynne Mamaradlo (12) said. “At first I felt like moving to a new place wouldn’t beat the memories I have experienced in the precious place, but I soon learned that new experiences and new friends at a new place is actually pretty amazing.”

     Having this assembly was necessary because it is helping to give the students an opportunity to invite one of their loved ones who is a veteran to come to school and have everyone show their appreciation to the men and women who have fought for us. Whether they are in the United States Navy, United States Marine Corps, United States Air force etc.

     During the assembly their were a couple of guest speakers who talked about their time in the military and some of the things that had happened to them while being in the military. They also talked about how being in the military impacted them in good and bad ways.

     The assembly also featured a Fallen Soldier Table that had white table cloth where a plate, utensils, napkins and bread plate was placed to represent the fallen men and women of the Armed Forces. From there the place a candle to represent the light of hope on one side of the table, a rose in a vase representing the families who loved them and to keep faith with them, yellow or red ribbon tied to a vase yellow representing loyalty in waiting for those serving away from home and red representing the memory of those missing in action. A wine glass placed upside-down on the right of the plate and this represents the fallen fellow soldier that will not be able to participate in the toast of the event, a lemon wedge on a bread plate showing bitter loss of life of the fallen soldier, sprinkle salt over the lemon to showing the weeping tears of the soldier who is missed, and lastly an empty chair at the front of the place setting representing the missing soldier.

     Radford High School was named after Admiral Arthur W. Radford, who was the first Naval officer to be set as the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, which is the highest ranking military officer in the United States Armed Forces.

      Veterans Day is the only day where everyone in the military gets honored, still in the military or not. This is the only time where everyone can say ‘Thank you’ to the men and women who have fought in wars, or who have been gone for months or even years.