On November 11th, East held an assembly in the main gym to honor local veterans and incorporated multiple clubs to participate in the festivities.

Prior to the event, there was a lot of hard work from multiple parties put into the assembly. Chelsea Mullennex, teacher, and Lieutenant Justin Owens, head of the BE ROTC program, organized the ceremony. “Lt. Owens and I tried to incorporate as much as we could into the program. We got the chorus, band, F.O.R. [Friends of Rachel] Club, art club, FFA [Future Farmers of America], and drama club all had a roll. Amongst that there was a lot of preparation work since the beginning of September. I’m very pleased with how it went, I feel like I can finally breathe now. I’m very happy to see our kids honor our veterans on the day set aside for them,” Mullennex said.

Obviously, Junior Guard played a huge role in the assembly. They were involved in most of the preparations and planning for the assembly, as well as participating in some of the festivities. Junior Guard member Cole Green was the emcee of the assembly, and Paige Woods, Brandon Hottois, and Hunter Stewart also spoke. Toward the end, members of Junior Guard who had already sworn into the armed forces were invited to stand up to be recognized. Junior Guard members also presented the colors.

At the assembly, the Bullitt East FFA chapter stood in front of the school and recited wars and events that our heroes have served in. Senior and FFA member Daniel Chitwood said, “It was cool to see where each one (veteran) was from and what war they were in.” It was Lt. Owens idea for the FFA chapter to go in front of the school. He contacted the sponsor, Dustin Gosser, and then assigned the different events to his students.

Willie Foster, principal, was pleased as to how the program went over. “I am extremely proud of the assembly today. Obviously in school, English, math, social studies, and electives- these all matter. However I feel like we lose focus on some important stuff. Sometimes we learn as much out of stuff like this as we do in a math class. That today is important because we’re all apart of the world. We are all citizens. It’s important for us to stop and say thank you to the people that provide us all that we have,” Foster said.

Many students and staff members were eager to bring their veteran relatives to the assembly to be honored. April McCroskey, teacher, invited Charlie Parsons, her grandfather. Parsons was in the army during the Korean War. His favorite part of the assembly was when the men stood up when the war they served in was called out.

McCroskey thought the program was “awesome”, and that it showed unity throughout East.

Parson’s brother Clarence was also at the assembly. Clarence loved everything about the ceremony. He was in the Navy for four years (1951-1955), serving in Korea, Japan, and Vietnam. Although he was in the Navy, Clarence is unable to swim, even to this day.

Jami Willis, teacher, invited her relative to be honored, too. John Shattuck served in the Navy during the Korea and Vietnam wars. Shattuck said the hardest part of it all was for his wife having to deal with his absence. “There’s nothing good about any kind of war,” Shattuck said.

Monty Edwards, teacher, was a veteran himself. He served from 1988-1996 as a hospital corpsman. He served in California, Illinois, Virginia, and so on. He was able to use the money he received from the military to attend college and finish his teaching degree. Edwards said he still uses experiences from his time in the military to teach his history classes. “I just feel so proud to even be in line with these guys,” Edwards said, referring to the other veterans honored in the ceremony.

There was also one World War II veteran in attendance at the assembly. Jesse Hoskins, 92 years old now, served when he was 21. Hoskins joined the Coast Guard, but at the time, the Coast Guard was technically a part of the Navy. He served on a Destroyer ship in the North Atlantic. Hoskins also served under captains that were originally from Germany. These Germans came to the US and gained US citizenship in order to help America better understand Germany’s advanced technology during the war.

Overall, there was 24 veterans at the ceremony. After the assembly dismissed, the veterans and their families were congregated in the library. While there, veterans were able to spend time with their loved ones, along with being able to exchange their war stories with fellow veterans.

“I got a chance to walk over and talk to the veterans, and I think they are very proud. Here’s the thing that I’m the most proud of: I don’t feel like society thinks that the current generation in high school, is as respectful as previous generations. I think it’s pleasantly surprising to folks like the veterans that were here today to see how respectful the school is,” Foster said.Kim Flaherty
Kim Flaherty