Chesterton Middle School celebrated its last Veterans Day Program at Goldsborough Gym with a deeply appreciative tribute to veterans Friday afternoon.
It was the 56th annual Veterans Day Program put on by Chesterton middle schoolers. Former Principal Jim Ton gave a history of the school’s decades celebrating Veterans Day, explaining the tradition began after Duneland School Corporation was formed by state mandate, combining the Liberty, Jackson and Westchester School Corporations.
Veterans Day has been a big deal ever since, even including a family-style chicken dinner at noon for some years. “The schools smelled like fried chicken for a week,” he said of the separate programs held at Liberty and Westchester Middle Schools.
When the two combined into Chesterton Middle School in 2001 the tradition moved to Goldsborough Gym. Army veteran Ed Witek and Theresa, his wife of 61 years, attended for many years. They were back in attendance Friday after a couple years away during the pandemic.
“It’s just to see the people’s appreciation for the military,” Ed Witek said of the draw for him.
“And I would say the patriotism,” added Theresa Witek. “We love our country.”
The appreciation was shown through an hourlong program that included musical performances by the school band, orchestra, and choir, as well as the posting of the colors, speeches, a student essay, and a slideshow of service-era photos of loved ones of staff and students who have served in the military.
A check for over $1,000 raised by CMS students was also presented to Folds of Honor, an organization that raises money for the children of fallen veterans.
Bob Carnagey of Folds of Honor addressed the crowd after accepting the donation, telling them how he came to be involved after seeing Chesterton students raising money for their peers in 2011. “The beautiful thing that I will always remember is, it was kids helping kids that had a hole in their family,” he said.
Marine Corps veteran and Chesterton High School physics teacher Brian Hennigar was the guest speaker. He was a combat engineer from 1998 to 2004 and did a tour in Iraq. “I had the privilege of doing mathematics in the middle of combat,” he told the students, but said rather than regale them with his adventures he wanted them to understand what Veterans Day is about.
‘When we talk about the military, we talk about the branches of service. That’s the important word here. When you start, you probably don’t know why you’re there,” he added of combat, “but very quickly the military shows you, you are not the most important thing anymore.
“One of the purposes today, students, is to see what’s gone before you,” he added. “For one hour, of one day each year we recognize that service.”
Hennigar then explained what it was like to be given 48 hours of leave to see his wife and put his affairs in order before the March 2003 invasion of Iraq. “And when people in the world had no hope, no safety, no chance, these veterans risked everything,” he said of the men and women in the audience who were later asked to stand as their branch marches were played.
This time, though, he asked the students to stand and honor the veterans. “This school, these kids, this town, and this country — they’re safer because of you. Thank you,” he said.
Seventh grader Michael Williams said he didn’t always understand his grandfather Russell Mazurek’s service as a veteran. “I think it was nice,” he said of the role he played honoring him. “I didn’t really know that much about my grandpa being a veteran and that he served.”
Mazurek, of Crown Point, was a sailor on an ammunition ship that would pull into Da Nang, Vietnam during his two-and-a-half year tour in the 1960s. He and Michael’s moms sat in the audience. He said he felt grateful to be honored. “The guest speaker they had was very good,” he said. “Very impressed with the choir and both bands.”
Chesterton Middle School will again be splitting into two schools next year and it’s unclear exactly what the Veterans Day tradition will look like then, as the school corporation continues with a building project and a reconfiguring of the middle school.
“There will definitely be a veterans program that will continue when we split up,” promised Chesterton Middle School librarian and Veterans Day program director Nadia Komp. “It might look a little bit different.”
Shelley Jones is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.