'A token of our gratitude': East Middle School students honor veterans in Braintree

Nov. 11: Here's how the South Shore is observing Veterans Day this year

BRAINTREE − Halls covered in red, white and blue stars, colorful bulletin boards commemorating the history of the U.S. armed services and hundreds of grateful students and staff members greeted 20 veterans visiting East Middle School the day before Veterans Day.

The annual holiday program at the school brings guest speakers into the classrooms of students as they "share their stories and experiences that may otherwise go untold," Assistant Principal Allison Mezzetti said. "It's a token of our gratitude."

Eighth graders Ashley Lippert and Niamh Kealey were among the 20 student ambassadors who contributed to the event and spent extra time with guest speakers. The ambassadors were nominated for their leadership and academic achievements.

"We help escort the veterans from classroom to classroom," Ashley said.

Niamh talked about how they prepared for the day.

"We did work in social studies making posters and talking about the meaning of Veterans Day," she said. She explained how each ambassador was assigned one veteran, whose biography she studied before the event.

"We give little intros, and then the veterans take over from there," Niahm said.

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After an opening ceremony that included a student choir performance of the national anthem, veterans rotated through different eighth grade classrooms to speak and answer questions.

Master Sgt. David Duffy, 79, told students about his time as a Marine intelligence officer in the 1960s, when he intercepted communications between East and West Germany and was stationed at Guantanamo Bay during the Cuban Missile Crisis. In response to a student's question about his scariest moment, Duffy said, "We were half an hour away from World War III, and I couldn't tell anyone. That's how close it was."

For some, the event at the school was a homecoming.

Army veteran Tim Hagerty served in Iraq with the 82nd Airborne Division. The event reunited Hagerty with Kenny Butler, a teacher at East Middle, for the first time since their tour in Iraq. Hagerty is a psychiatric social worker at the VA Hospital in Brockton.

In another classroom, Heather Pernock told students about her experiences as a military police officer at Otis Air National Guard Base in Bourne, and her work as a recruiter. Pernock was a former student of Mezzetti's when the latter taught eighth grade English at O'Donnell Middle School in Stoughton.

In a third classroom, Braintree police officer Peter Gillis told students about his decision to join the military, boot camp and his experiences during the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq.

"At 19, I had to figure out how to get us around without getting killed," he said. "You're so scared that you'll get ambushed, that you'll get attacked. But you push through that fear for your three buddies, and they're doing it for you."

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Former Marine Jon Brace recounted his impressions of basic training.

"They break you down and build you back up," he said. "It's a struggle at the beginning, especially if you can't take orders."

But there were also parts he enjoyed, such as competitions between different platoons and work on the rifle range.

Brace told students thinking about joining the military "to make sure it's really what you want." He said the experience increased his discipline, work ethic and self-knowledge.

"Everyone should go to boot camp," he said. "Even if you don't go into the military."

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This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: Veterans speak with Braintree middle school students for Veterans Day