At Suncrest Elementary School, an external sound system regularly carries morning announcements out to the parking lot.
Visitors rolling in Thursday morning quickly learned what the theme of this day was going to be, courtesy of that audio in the autumn air.
“Is someone in your family a veteran?” asked a voice that managed to sound crisp and pleasant at the same time.
“Remember to thank them for their service.”
In the cafeteria, Tammy Klemkowsky’s second-graders — “They call me ‘Mrs. K.,’ for obvious reasons,” the teacher deadpanned — faithfully obeyed their orders.
Their mission was completed with the help of coffee, doughnuts and Woody Guthrie, who still manages to be America’s troubadour, after all these years.
Mr. Guthrie’s contribution Thursday came by way of the backing track to “This Land Is Your Land,” to which the students added their vocals as they honored the veterans — plus one reservist still on active duty — who all stood in a kind of modified parade rest at the front of the room.
The soldiers of all branches and military experiences are the moms, dads and granddads of Mrs. K.’s charges.
“We wanted to honor them for their sacrifice and service,” the teacher said.
A couple of the granddads who fell in this day were draftees to Vietnam.
Some served in the Gulf War.
Others enlisted for adventure, tuition money, or both.
No matter the motivation, they all wore the uniform, and on this day — Veterans Day — that’s what it’s all about.
Christine Anderson wore her uniform to Suncrest on Thursday because she’s still in: She’s the Army reservist who was introduced by her daughter, Addison.
“I’m proud of my mom,” the second-grader said.
“I had been thinking about going in for a long time,” said Anderson, who grew up in a military family.
Besides her main tour of duty — being Addison’s mom — Anderson just made sergeant, on top of recently earning a master’s degree in public administration from WVU.
“It’s a lot of work,” she said, holding her daughter close, “but it’s all worth it.”
Theo Zegre introduced his dad, Nicolas Zegre, to the cafeteria.
“When I joined the Army, I wasn’t even thinking about college,” said the elder Zegre, now a WVU professor.
“The military does that,” he said. “I really learned the importance of working in teams.”
That’s what he now does daily at the university: He’s a forester and hydrologist who researches climate change across Appalachia and the world.
Zegre, who spent eight years in the Army, was honorably discharged on the day before Sept. 11, 2001.
On Thursday, the day before Veterans Day, soldiers were still in harm’s way, in locales that couldn’t have been more distanced from a friendly school on Collins Ferry Road.
And they’re still out there today.
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