School and community pause for 'the day we honor our veterans'

By MIKE HALLIDAY

The Mirror

The gymnasium was filled with students at Totem Middle School to continue a tradition.

"Today is the day we honor our veterans," principal Jeanette Bullock said.

Bill Andrew and his wife, Sally, attended the school's Veterans Day ceremony Wednesday for the second year and sat in chairs on the floor of the gym. Andrew stood when a school official asked all veterans to stand. Andrew, a Puyallup resident, served in the Navy from 1958 to 1962 and was invited by his granddaughter to attend.

It's a ceremony he enjoys each year, Andrew said in the library following the event. The school served cake and coffee to the veterans and active service members who attended. Totem and the rest of Federal Way Public Schools was closed Thursday for the actual Veterans Day holiday.

While the students and staff at Totem thanked veterans and active service members for their service to the country, in turn the current and former members of the military explained what they did in the service.

Four representatives from Fort Lewis in Tacoma spoke to the students. Lt. Andrew Moore explained the Army is more than just soldiers in combat. There's a lot going on away from the combat zone, from transporting troops and their weapons, to building bases and facilities and interacting with civilians helping with basic services like drinking water and medicine, he said.

The Army even has veterinarians who care for military service animals and civilian critters, Moore said.

Lt. Naomi Skinner and Spc. Patti Simon recounted the history of women in the military, noting that females served and fought since the founding of the country, but it wasn't until the middle of the last century that women were integrated with men and, by the 1970s, served in leadership roles of both genders.

Totem has held a Veterans Day assembly for several years, and it has become something of an institution, teachers said.

The school's orchestra played the national anthem while an honor guard from McChord Air Force Base in Tacoma presented Old Glory. The orchestra also honored the veterans by playing the Marches of the Armed Forces, an instrumental of all the branches' songs –– the Navy's "Anchors Aweigh," "Marine's Hymn" and the Coast Guard's "Semper Paratus."

Harry Millan, a retired chief, stood as the lone representative of the Coast Guard. When the Army's "The Caissons Go Rolling Along" was played, the branch's active duty and veterans stood. The piece ended with "The U.S. Air Force."

As each branch was recognized in song, a student walked across the gym floor holding a placard with that group's name on it.

Horton Smith, a retired Navy rear admiral, explained some of the ribbons and pins on his uniform and noted to students that long after some veterans retire from active duty, they continue serving as civilians. He recently was on a large fuel ship dispatched to the Persian Gulf.

Millan, who served for 22 years in the Coast Guard, said he attends the ceremony to honor his family. Many are active duty or veterans, including his son, who is in the Persian Gulf with the Army.

The military tries its best to protect the United States, Millan told the students at the end of the ceremony.

"Thank you for your support," he said to them.

Staff writer Mike Halliday: 925-5565, mhalliday@fedwaymirror.com

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