Middle School Honors Veterans 

Monday, November 11, was a day of remembrance as the entire Middle School gathered in the Sid W. Richardson Round Gym for the annual Veterans Day program led by the seventh graders. View the slideshow. The event honored the history of Veterans Day and the five branches of the armed forces, followed by the flag walk to the Middle School for advisory discussions with the veterans in attendance. 

Marine Corps Veteran Sam Blunzter, parent to Eliza ’31 and Thomas ’27 was the keynote speaker. Bluntzer shared fun tidbits about call signs in the military, explaining how they often originate from a person’s last name or a humorous situation. He then recounted his journey to joining the Marines and why. He shared that 9/11 occurred when he was in flight school and that it profoundly shaped his career and deepened his respect for those who joined the military following 9/11.

Blunzter touched on valuable life lessons, which included to be grateful for your freedom; always keep learning; put in the effort to be a curious student; ddon’tbe afraid to do hard things; and embrace discipline, it creates freedom.

A special moment of silence honored FWCD’s only graduate to die in service to his country, Captain David R. “Chip” Herr, Jr. ’80, to whom FWCD’s Veterans Garden is dedicated. Following the program, the students stood proudly holding their flags as the veterans walked through the flag-lined path to the Middle School on their way to advisory, where they shared their stories and experiences from their time in the service. Watch a video recap of the event created by Middle School iPad Coordinator John Long.