Hamden Middle School seventh graders gathered for a veterans' awareness program on Friday and had the opportunity to speak one-on-one with veterans from the community about their experience serving in the armed forces.
“It plants seeds and answers questions,” said Ronald Weil, a retired U.S. Army colonel and chairman of the Hamden Veterans Commission. “We give the students a questionnaire. They're really conversation starters to go talk to the veterans, talk to the veterans’ groups and gain information.”
Weil added that some students are very interested.
“They want to know about things like ROTC, they want to know about what the Army does, what the Marines do,” he said.
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Weil added that despite young people having access to a world of information, they sometimes don’t know much about serving. Some might learn through family members who are serving, while other students don’t get that first-hand exposure.
“They can see these veterans up close and personal, especially if they don't have any relationship with a veteran in their lives at home,” said Adele Hodges, a retired Marines colonel from Bridgeport.
Even with a father and brother who served, Hodges said she didn’t think about the military as a career for herself until after college. So, she hopes events like this spark an interest for seventh graders and they can enjoy speaking with the service members.
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“I really want to know their experience because I feel like they never get to talk about their experience or talk about what they really sacrificed to be there,” said Tinique Lee, a seventh grader at Hamden Middle School.
That sacrifice is what students also wanted to thank the veterans for ahead of Veterans Day.
“Thank you so much. I’m very supportive of all you’ve done,” said Bryce Hemingway, a seventh grader at Hamden Middle School.
“I want to tell them thank you for helping our country,” said Jasper Spratlin, a seventh grader at Hamden Middle School.
