> Return to Articles

At Ambleside we seek to instruct students in the roles and responsibilities of a citizen of one’s country. Veterans Day is an opportunity for such instruction;  students become acquainted with men and women who have and are serving in our armed forces. It also serves as an opportunity for students to give honor and respect to these persons through a special time set aside for pledges, prayer, and patriotism.

Our times together with veterans have been instructional for both conscience and mind. I am reminded of the story we heard from an American officer who walked the streets of Germany, looking at the church steeples high above the roof tops, pondering the reality that the opposing forces during World War II were under the same God and yet there was no reconciliation on earth. A young veteran shared how he had been wayward in high school and spoke of the discipline of the service and how he had changed. He had developed the self-compelling power he had lacked and felt purposeful and hopeful for his future. Stories like these are heard each year and the audience walks away inspired to sacrifice more, complain less, and live more fully in the shadow of the flag and the cross.

Maryellen St. Cyr

Found, Director of Curriculum