Thank you once again to the 12 Veterans and active or past service members who came to Washington last Thursday to speak to our classes. We truly appreciate the time you spent with us, and the opportunity to learn from all of you. Thank you so very much….and thank you for your service! On Thursday, November 8th , 2018, we welcomed members of our Armed Services, past & present, to speak to small groups of students about the significance and importance of Veteran's Day. We had a speaker for each of our 12 classes during first period that day. We began with a small welcoming reception at 7:40 in our conference room and then a student escorted the speaker to the classroom. Washington thanks you for your service!
Veterans representing all military branches and serving every decade since World War II visited Washington Gifted Middle School this week to speak to students. Each veteran was paired with a class of students. The veterans told students of their military service experiences, from the exciting and dangerous to the mundane.
Former White School principal Jim Ulrich, an Army veteran representing the American Legion Post 2, brought his friend Mike Faley, a 98-year-old Army veteran who was in college when Pearl Harbor was bombed.
Les Perera, a US Navy veteran who served in Vietnam, spoke to students about post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and advances made to treat veterans returning from service.
Peoria Public Schools Foundation staff member Brenda Wilson described her experiences in the U.S. Army Reserves. “I was a computer communications project manager in the Air National Guard. I served at the 182nd Airlift Wing near the Peoria Airport from 1993-1999, then inactively through 2002,” Wilson told the students. Wilson attended basic training at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio TX before going to Communications Tech School at Keesler Air Force Base in Biloxi MS. “Even though I joined during Desert Storm & served Active duty during that time, I never had to go into a war situation, so I’m one of the lucky ones.”
501 – Room 4 (Mrs. Hahn) Nate Gregg, US Army Reserve, (Iraq/Afghanistan Veteran)
502 – Room 14 (Miss Nelson) Scott Corsaut, Marine Corps, Commander Am Legion Post 1111 Tom Horstmann, Am Legion Post 1111, Vietnam Veteran
503 – Room 2 (Mrs. Fleming) Sgt. E5, Douglas Troop Sr., US Army Corporal E4, Douglas Troop Jr., 101st Artillery, US Army
601 – Room 13 (Mrs. Conard) Av Electronic Tech, 2nd Class, Mike Rodriguez, US Navy
602 – Large Gym – (Mr. Carpenter) Major Justin Wilkerson, Illinois Army National Guard
603 – Room 10 (Mrs. Freyman) Patti Smith, Gold Star Family
701 – Room 12 (Mrs. Zacovic) Les Perera, US Navy, Veteran
702 – Room 16 – (Mr. Weinrich) Mark Armstrong, US Army, (Ret.) Veteran
703 – Room 6 (Mr. Sea) Trish Russell, Veteran
801 – Room 8 (Mrs. Prescott) John Strickler, US Navy, Vietnam Veteran
802 – Room 7 (Mr. Venegas) Jim Ulrich, American Legion Post 2, Veteran
803 – Room 3 (Mrs. Nemeth) Brenda Wilson, US Army Reserve
