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Veterans Day observance recalls heroes and freedoms
Nov 21, 2003 8:00 AM
By Stefan Eady - Faculty
It was a beautiful, crisp day in Rome, Ga., with changing leaves and the related fall smells in the air. The entire Upper School, faculty and students, gathered in Morris Chapel on the eleventh day of the eleventh month to have the stage set for their walk to downtown Rome, this time to join the local community and the nation in commemorating the country’s veterans on the holiday in their name.
Following a chapel service in which both history department chair Craig Schmidt and keynote speaker Charles Kimbrell, a highly decorated veteran, reminded the audience of the noble sacrifice of the School’s veterans to make a better world and safer tomorrow for all, everyone gathered outside the chapel for the walk to Myrtle Hill Cemetery where the city’s Veterans Day observance was to begin at the eleventh hour.
In his remarks, Kimbrell gave thanks for those who have fought against injustice such as bigotry, for veterans who counted the cost of liberty, for the victims and heroes of Sept. 11, and for individual freedom. “Americans have a common creed that binds us together rather than a common ancestry,” Kimbrell said. “I am reminded of something I heard someone else say, that to be born free is a privilege, to die free is an awesome responsibility.”
Due in part to the participation of about 550 Darlington Upper School students and faculty, Rome’s Veterans Day observance was the largest since the Known Soldier Tomb was dedicated in 1923. This memorial is the final resting place of Pvt. Charles W. Graves, who was killed in France during World War I and honored by being buried at Arlington National Cemetery until his mother demanded that her son be returned home to Rome. The Darlington School Band and Concert Choir perform as part of the remembrance.
After returning to campus, the student body and faculty members took part in a panel discussion led by veterans from many different wars. Max Hinton and Lydie White, seniors; Ecko Steadman, junior; Wil Tucker, sophomore; and Brett Henson, freshman posed questions to General Michael Alexander, Korean War and Vietnam War; Frank Barron Jr., Korean War; Frank Barron III, Desert Storm I; Rick Graham ’61, Vietnam War; Glover Hogg ’35, World War II; David Hunter ’65, Vietnam War; and Harold Storey, World War II.
“The purpose of the program this year is to recapture the original intent of the holiday,” David Hicks, School president, said. “National holidays have become largely ‘days off’ usually spent watching football games on television, hanging out with friends, picnicking and playing. The history and meaning of these holidays are largely lost on the rising generation. We are a school and bear some responsibility for teaching these things.”
Following a chapel service in which both history department chair Craig Schmidt and keynote speaker Charles Kimbrell, a highly decorated veteran, reminded the audience of the noble sacrifice of the School’s veterans to make a better world and safer tomorrow for all, everyone gathered outside the chapel for the walk to Myrtle Hill Cemetery where the city’s Veterans Day observance was to begin at the eleventh hour.
In his remarks, Kimbrell gave thanks for those who have fought against injustice such as bigotry, for veterans who counted the cost of liberty, for the victims and heroes of Sept. 11, and for individual freedom. “Americans have a common creed that binds us together rather than a common ancestry,” Kimbrell said. “I am reminded of something I heard someone else say, that to be born free is a privilege, to die free is an awesome responsibility.”
Due in part to the participation of about 550 Darlington Upper School students and faculty, Rome’s Veterans Day observance was the largest since the Known Soldier Tomb was dedicated in 1923. This memorial is the final resting place of Pvt. Charles W. Graves, who was killed in France during World War I and honored by being buried at Arlington National Cemetery until his mother demanded that her son be returned home to Rome. The Darlington School Band and Concert Choir perform as part of the remembrance.
After returning to campus, the student body and faculty members took part in a panel discussion led by veterans from many different wars. Max Hinton and Lydie White, seniors; Ecko Steadman, junior; Wil Tucker, sophomore; and Brett Henson, freshman posed questions to General Michael Alexander, Korean War and Vietnam War; Frank Barron Jr., Korean War; Frank Barron III, Desert Storm I; Rick Graham ’61, Vietnam War; Glover Hogg ’35, World War II; David Hunter ’65, Vietnam War; and Harold Storey, World War II.
“The purpose of the program this year is to recapture the original intent of the holiday,” David Hicks, School president, said. “National holidays have become largely ‘days off’ usually spent watching football games on television, hanging out with friends, picnicking and playing. The history and meaning of these holidays are largely lost on the rising generation. We are a school and bear some responsibility for teaching these things.”
