Plans are under way for a very special program that, it is hoped, will attract as many as 750 veterans to an event in their honor.
Students at Hampden Academy and Reeds Brook Middle School are joining forces, guided by HA sociology teacher Andy Frace and Reeds Brook social studies teacher David Haggan, to offer what they hope will be a most memorable day honoring military veterans who served their country at any time.
Veterans of all services and ages are invited to attend the daylong event from 11:45 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday, May 26, at Hampden Academy.
The affair will include a luncheon, a USO-style show featuring the students of both schools, poppies for all the spouses, and entertainment that includes swing dancing with the students and those veterans who care to join in.
“A few years ago,” Andy said, “David did this with his kids on a more local level and had [former] Governor John Baldacci as the keynote speaker.
“David wanted to do it again, but he also wanted to get the high school involved and get veterans involved, statewide.”
So Andy and David joined forces and classes to, it is hoped, make this one of the more special events honoring Maine veterans this year.
Members of the Maine Troop Greeters are invited to participate, and Andy and David have made arrangements with Verizon for interested individuals to RSVP by emailing vetsappreciation@gmail.com and just printing “I’m coming,” Andy said.
However, he pointed out, reservations are NOT required; they just would be helpful, Andy said because, if it turns out that, by May 16, Andy and David learn more than 750 might attend, they will be looking for a new venue.
“We think we can handle that number but if it’s more, we’ll find someplace that we can use” to accommodate everyone who wants to attend, Andy emphasized.
The teachers and their students have been in touch with organizations such as the Veterans of Foreign Wars, the American Legion and representatives of veterans hospitals as well as organizations of Korean War and Vietnam era veterans.
“We’ve contacted just about anybody who will listen to us,” Andy said.
“We’ve put the word out that this will be a day of celebration to celebrate the people who have done their duty for all of us.
“It will be a good day.
“It is all about remembering them and what they’ve done, and the kids are really involved.”
In fact, the day for the students begins at 8 a.m. and will include not only a program of their own featuring poems and speeches, but also planting flags for veterans at local cemeteries.
“David started this with his [middle school] social studies class,” Andy said.
“He was focusing on the saying ‘freedom is not free,’ but he said he felt like his freedom was free, because he did not have to go to war.
“Others had to go to war for him, he said, and he wanted to recognize them for that.”
Andy said the USO show the students are preparing will include the Top Hat Dancers “and we’ve taught the kids to dance, ballroom style, so they can dance with the veterans’ wives.”
“We’ve got the best of the best,” he said of the young people who are committed to this project to honor their elders.
Representatives of “three museums on wheels” will be featured as well, with memorabilia of World War II, Korea and Vietnam.
Andy said the World War II and Korean displays will be directed by members of the Maine Army National Guard, and that Frankie Jordan will be there with his Vietnam Museum on Wheels.
“Galen Cole of Cole Land Transportation Museum” in Bangor, so well-known for distributing walking sticks to all veterans and hosting a special program for them on military holidays,”will be a special guest, and we’re working on a live feed from Afghanistan and Iraq,” Andy said.
For many veterans, one of the major highlights might well be the presence of representatives of the History Channel, who will be there, Andy said “interviewing all World War II veterans who want to be interviewed, and those interviews will go into the Library of Congress.”
“We have a lot to celebrate,” Andy said in preparing for this event that precedes Memorial Day, May 30, “and we want to make sure everybody is invited.”
“We’ll have at least 100 tables, and we should be able to accommodate everyone who can come.”
Once you’ve made your decision to attend, however, keep in mind the location could change.
You can stay in touch with the lead planners by emailing dhaggan@sad22.us or afrace@sad22.us. or calling or texting 370-8344 if you plan to attend.