Each November 11, the people of the United States celebrate Veterans Day, a moment of remembrance for those who have served and continue to serve their country with their lives. Fulshear High School held an event in the library to commemorate the event. The festivities included performances from the Charger Band, Orchestra, and Theatre departments. Culinary students also made and served food for the attendees.
“Many of us find our military service marked by conflicts,” Philip Baker, Fulshear’s Dual Government teacher and an armed forces veteran, said as the keynote speaker. “Yet broad global events don’t define the service of an individual. Those who serve frequently look back on their service not as a list of duty stations, but rather in remembrance of those we served with and whose lives shaped ours and we helped shape theirs.”
Occasionally, you could hear a small whimper in the crowd as Baker’s message resonated through the library. “Let us thank veterans not only with words, but with actions that reflect our deepest respect and admiration. May we honor them today, and may we stand by them tomorrow. I salute those with whom I have served, and I am grateful to call you my brothers and sisters.”
Multiple people spoke at the event, but nobody was perhaps more emotional than Brian Forshee, Fulshear’s principal. His father is a Vietnam veteran and was able to make it to the event. Brian was brought to tears thinking of all the sacrifices his dad made for him during his speech.
“Well, when you’re sitting there on Veterans Day and you have all those people standing there and you’ve got former veterans who are in your audience, along with my dad who’s a former veteran as well, and so you’re remembering the times of what the veterans have done for us as a society, (it’s amazing),” Forshee said regarding his emotional response.
After the speakers finished with their remarks, school staff led the veterans through the main hallway as hundreds of students came out of their classrooms to cheer them on. The emotional moment sums up perfectly the importance of celebrating those who risked their lives for the freedom we all enjoy; the least we can do is thank them… for everything.
