World War II veteran Cleon Fletcher, 97, sits Friday next to his son Gilbert Fletcher during the Veterans Day assembly at Dirigo Elementary School in Peru. Standing behind them are family members, from left, Megan, Devon and Tricia Fletcher. Marianne Hutchinson/Rumford Falls Times
PERU — Dirigo Elementary School students and staff honored 50 area veterans, most of them relatives of the students, during the school’s annual Veterans Day celebration Friday.
Dirigo Elementary School student Addilynn Cottle and her father, veteran Kyle Cottle, on Friday during the school’s Veterans Day assembly. Fifty area veterans were honored at a breakfast and assembly. Marianne Hutchinson/Rumford Falls Times
Principal Charlie Swan spoke to the students about the purpose of the recognition and played a short video on Veterans Day. The day is when “Americans honor veterans; people who have served or currently serve in the US military.”
He told students there are two questions they might think about: “Do you know a veteran?” and “How will you thank them?”
Their appreciation, he said, could simply be saying “thank you.”
“Some of you gave thank you messages, some of you made cards,” Swan said. “All those are small ways that we can say thank you to our veterans, either in our family, or in our community.”
During the assembly following the breakfast, each veteran’s name was announced and students took turns giving their veteran or friend a hug and a gift bag with a thank you card and a veteran pin. There was also a special coin made by Region 9 vocational students with the words Dirigo Elementary School on one side and Happy Veterans Day, Thank You for your service, on the other.
The school also presented a $2,505 check to Dan Waite, founder of Operation Reboot Outdoors, a nonprofit veterans’ organization that provides healing for veterans through outdoor recreational activities.
Forty-two students participated in the school’s fundraiser for the organization.
Culinary arts students from Region 9 School of Applied Technology in Mexico serve breakfast Friday to 50 area veterans at Dirigo Elementary School in Peru. The Veterans Day celebration included an assembly. From left are students Alex Hiscock, Brandi Wickham, Annaliese Sedycias, Lil Butterfield, Madi Touchette and Hailey Lake. Marianne Hutchinson/Rumford Falls Times
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