Thomas Jefferson High School hosts Veterans Day recognition ceremony

Thomas Jefferson High School senior Rachael Parsons is concerned that young people her age aren’t showing enough appreciation for the sacrifices American veterans have made over the years.

So, the 17-year-old is doing what she can to change that.

On Nov. 10, she took part in a stirring “Salute to Veterans” recognition event held in the high school’s theater. About 1,000 people attended, including the entire student body.

“I think with programs like this it helps to bring people together and uplift them to really appreciate the veterans who come here,” Parsons said.

The program was held on Nov. 10 instead of Veterans Day on the next day because the TJ Marching Band is performing in the Veterans Day Parade in Pittsburgh on Friday.

The veterans who came represented all branches of the service and enjoyed a stirring program that included a performance of patriotic songs by the Thomas Jefferson Band and Orchestra directed by James Mirabella, and the choir directed by Julie Lucci.

There was also a speech by Parsons who remembered her great-grandfather, a World War II veteran who served in the Marine Corps.

“I didn’t really get to know him that well, but I did know that he was a hero and to me that just meant a lot to come up here and present that to everybody else,” she said.

As part of the program, junior Aiden Oeler, 17, discussed the meaning behind the school’s Armed Forces Salute of Songs that included the Army’s “Caisson Song,” the Navy’s “Anchors Away,” “The Marine Hymn,” the U.S. Coast Guard’s “Semper Paratus” and The U.S. Air Force song that is often referred to as “Wild Blue Yonder.”

“Looking back through my family heritage, there are veterans sprinkled throughout my family and my ancestors,” Oeler said. “It’s a way for me to connect with them. I’ve never been able to meet them. My grandfather served in World War II in the Army. He was a bugler, which connects to me for music. And I think it means a lot for us as a younger generation to carry along the freedom that these men and women fought for.”

Marine Corp. veteran Cpl. Joe Lamphere, who served in Iraq, Afghanistan and Syria, gave the keynote address and came away impressed by the program the students and their instructors put together.

“I told the principal (Pete Murphy) if you couldn’t feel it here, you were sleeping. It was an unbelievable event,” Lamphere said. “I felt very appreciated. They had a breakfast this morning and I got to meet a lot of great veterans. It doesn’t matter when they served. There could be a great time gap but we still have so much in common and we had a lot to talk about. It was fun.”

The breakfast, held in the school cafeteria, also gave veterans an opportunity to visit with family members and children and grandchildren who are students at Thomas Jefferson High School.

Navy veteran Terry Bradford, 71, of Collier, who served on a submarine in the Atlantic during the Vietnam era, said the Veterans Day Celebration made him feel better than he did when he was discharged from the service.

“During Vietnam, no one was appreciated then,” Bradford said. “This is very good.”

He had an opportunity to spend time with his granddaughter Lily at the breakfast and said the entire event served to bring generations together. She agreed.

“I had fun. I love him. He’s great,” Lily, 15, a freshman at the high school said about her grandfather. “I definitely think it’s something more people should get involved in. I feel appreciation for veterans is dying down and less people each year truly take the time and effort to appreciate the people who served and sacrificed their life for our country.”

Army veteran Bill Figura, 70, of Carrick, said the Veterans Day program gave him chills.

“It was beautiful. It was awesome. I can’t say enough good things about it,” Figura said. “It makes you proud to be a veteran to see all this.”

Marine Corp. Lt. Col. Michael Thatcher was one of the speakers at the event and came away impressed with the turnout.

“It was really cool to see this come together and it’s what helps develop men and women of character here in this district,” Thatcher said. “It was cool to see some of the Vietnam guys here because those guys never got the thank you that they deserved. It’s nice that they’re here seeing these young people.”