North Cedar H.S. honoring veterans Friday

CLARENCE - North Cedar High Schools' Veterans Day assembly, hosted by student council, will be held Friday to honor the veterans of our community.

Bob Knight will be talking about his life experiences and his time serving in the army during the Vietnam War.

'The Vietnam vets didn't get welcomed home,” said Kelly Kunkel, an associate at North Cedar who had the idea of bringing her father in as the guest speaker. 'They were disrespected and no one liked them for some reason.”

Knight served in the military for six years, two active and four inactive. He was only in Vietnam for one year. Many Vietnam veterans don't like to talk about the brutal war.

Kunkel hopes the speech will allow her father to communicate and talk to people about the Vietnam War. The government doesn't even regard the Vietnam as an actual 'war,” but a 'police action”.

Knight in the first infantry division, or commonly know as 'The Big Red One.” It is the oldest, continuously serving division in the regular army. In 1966, he went to boot camp in Fort Leonard Wood, Mo. He got his Advanced Individual Training (AIT) at Fort Polk, La. When Knight got back from Vietnam, he was not treated well.

'You couldn't get your uniform off fast enough,” he said. 'You didn't want people to know that you were in the war.”

He had no idea why people didn't like him serving when he got back. Knight has been retired for 14 years, but still drives an ambulance when needed and is a substitute school bus driver. He was a millwright before he retired.

Students also will speak at this assembly. Each student in the National Honor Society will have a part in the speech. Each has to speak a part, but only a few actually wrote the speech.

'I really enjoy playing taps and speaking at the Veterans Day program, as it is my way of honoring all the men and women who risk their lives to protect this country,” senior Makayla Schluter said. 'It's really heartwarming to see the whole school come together to celebrate and honor America's heroes.”

North Cedar has been hosting the Veterans Day assembly for the last 15 years. The ideas for high school students to host Veterans Day activities started with Christine Wagner, a former North Cedar High School counselor.

The students look forward to it each year and it is a time when the whole community comes together to honor the veterans who serve our country.

The junior high band will be playing armed forces during the assembly and Pavin Esbaum and Schluter will be playing taps.

'It's the one thing I can do to pay back and thank them for what they've done,” Esbaum, a senior, said.

After they play taps, there is a moment of silence for our fallen soldiers. Boy Scouts carry the American flag and the Iowa flag, then the assembly recites the Pledge of Allegiance.

Most students like to learn about veteran's lives, and some plan to go serve in the military after high school.

The assembly starts at 10:30 a.m.