Students at Norwalk’s Roton Middle School get a lesson in the meaning of Veterans Day

NORWALK — Roton Middle School held an all-school assembly Thursday that taught a lesson in why schools were closed Friday.

Social studies teacher Mark Jackson organized the Veterans Day event and welcomed eight veterans to speak to the students about their experiences serving in the military.

“We have the day off, but the kids need to understand why we have the day off,” Jackson said. “We should all recognize why we have Veterans Day off. So we try to instill this patriotism within our students.

“The whole point of this is to thank our vets for what they do each and every day because there’s millions of people out there defending our freedoms. And the students need to realize that,” he said. 

At the assembly, the veterans gave speeches but also heard from the students.

In their language arts classes, students wrote poetry, and in social studies class, they wrote letters to veterans that will be delivered to amillionthanks.org, a nonprofit that provides support and appreciation to active and veteran military members through sending letters.

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Student volunteers from all grade levels read their work at the assembly as a thank you to the veterans. 

The veterans at the assembly all have deep connections to the school and the community in Norwalk.

They spoke in chronological order of when they served, starting with Thomas C. Little, who is the grandfather of a Roton sixth-grader. Little wrote a biography because he didn’t want to speak, and Jackson read it during the assembly.

The next veteran, Henry L. Murray Jr., is the husband of a teacher, and Bill Solder is a family friend of Mark Jackson. Robert Killackey is the ROTC teacher at Brien McMahon, and Rita Wilker, the only female veteran at the assembly, is the parent of a Roton eighth-grader and seventh-grader.

Edwin Supo is a friend of Solder, and Craig Hair is another Roton parent.

The final veteran to speak was Nick Marsan, who has nieces in eighth grade and is a former Norwalk Public Schools parent with a son currently in the U.S. Navy.

The ROTC Cadets from Brien McMahon also spoke about their program. 

“Each of them had a different perspective,” Jackson said. “Most of them (said seving in the military) was an opportunity for them to go to college because they didn’t have the money or the means to go (otherwise).

“Some of them felt that they needed that brotherly bond and commitment to service because they felt like they were lost and needed a focus. One person saw it as an opportunity and ended up getting thrown into the war,” he said. 

Each speaker had a different way of conveying their message, Jackson said; some used humor, while others were serious. However, no matter the way the veteran spoke, the emotion in their voices radiated through their tone. 

“It’s very emotional for a lot of these veterans just to talk about it,” Jackson said. “And the kids also need to understand that sometimes it’s hard for them to talk.”

The students came away with a lesson learned, too, he said. They learned that the military is a viable life path if college and vocational training is not what they want. The experience also benefited more people than just the students, though, Jackson said. 

“All the staff walked away and said that was really amazing,” he said “All the veterans came up and said that they really felt appreciated and loved by their school community by doing something like this.”