Big Lake Elementary School event honors veterans

BIG LAKE — Alaska veterans who served in the U.S. military as early as World War II witnessed history in the making at Big Lake Elementary school Wednesday.

In observance of Veterans Day — also known as Armistice Day, one student pointed out — community members nearly filled the school’s gym to listen to a presentation by Big Lake’s third- through fifth-grade students that showcased their study of U.S. history.

Between performances of “The Star Spangled Banner,” “This Land is Your Land” and the “Alaska Flag Song,” several students read fast facts about the holiday and the songs, and fifth-graders recited the preamble to the U.S. Constitution from memory.

Last year, the presentation was essentially one song, a few veterans, a homemade cake and one classroom full of kindergarteners.

“We were kind of shooting in the dark,” said third-grade teacher and U.S. Army veteran Jousette McKeel.

McKeel and her co-worker, Connie Service, said they originally pitched the idea for an honorary event because of a notable lack in the classroom.

“When we asked them what the national anthem was, some kids didn’t know,” McKeel said, of the students. “That was reason enough for me to say ‘hey, let’s show them what these songs are about.’”

What she and Service taught the students seemed to sink in.

“When they realized the national anthem had a true meaning and was created at a crucial time, what they were doing in school became more real to them,” McKeel said.

Given the number of veterans in Alaska, she said, this year, they wanted to make the celebration happen on a bigger scale. They pitched it to their new principal, Bre Reintsma, and she said, “let’s do it.”

“I wanted the kids to learn this,” Reintsma said. “They don’t have a lot of time during the day to realize how lucky they are to be Americans.”

While the core subjects and the basic skills typically learned in the classroom are important for students to know, she said, being able to understand and interact with the world in which they live also is valuable.

U.S. Navy veteran Ron Travis of The Last Frontier Honor Flight agreed. Travis attended the celebration last year and spoke to three different classes at Big Lake about Veterans Day at that time.

“We’re trying to close the gap between the World War II guys and the youngest generation,” he said.

During the majority of the year, he helps raise money with the Honor Flight to take as many veterans as possible to Washington, D.C. memorials, at no cost to them.

Seeing the students honor veterans, then, really tugs at his heartstrings.

“If this doesn’t stir you a little, something’s wrong with you,” he said, after the ceremony.

U.S. Army veteran Bill Frick, who served in the Korean War, said the event was particularly valuable to him as a retired principal and classroom teacher from the Anchorage School District.

“That kids are getting an education while performing is important to me,” Frick said, reflecting on the songs sang by the elementary school students.

In the classroom, Frick said, he used to ask and help students to interpret the Pledge of Allegiance, and fondly remembered their frequent accidental substitution of “invisible” for “indivisible.”

As humorous or endearing as the mistake sometimes seemed, Frick said he’s glad to see students taking more of an interest in social studies at a young age now, and engaging with their teachers and Alaska veterans to make a better community.

“They are what we’re delivering,” Frick said, referring to the students.

McKeel said she had a conversation with a parent prior to the event who wondered how the teachers were able to get their kids to “buy into” it.

Her answer concerned making strong connections, and forming legacies.

“When your kids know that they’re important to you, and you’re important to them, what’s important to you will become important to them,” she said.

U.S. Air Force veteran and Alaska resident of 60 years Clinton Neil Thomas also is invested in the education of Big Lake Elementary students.

Two of Thomas’s granddaughters attend the school, and seeing their presentation, he said, was “very emotional.” He remembered being overseas, separated from his family for an 18-month period during his four years of service, and was glad now to have the opportunity to be around his daughters and grandchildren.

Just the other day, however, he and a few of his fellow veterans asked each other if they “would do it all over again,” and the answer was unanimous:

“Yes, in a heartbeat,” he said. “That’s how proudly we stand for our country.”

But it’s not just about standing proud, he said — it’s making sure future generations understand the privilege they have to live in the United States.

“I don’t think people appreciate the freedom that the American people have because of veterans,” Thomas said. “It’s boots on the ground and planes in the air that makes our freedom.”

Contact Caitlin Skvorc at 352-2266 or caitlin.skvorc@frontiersman.com.