Former Heritage student and veteran Marine Dan Bokros, pictured with sixth grade math teacher Anne Bates, presented a flag to the school that was flown over Camp Leatherneck in Southern Afghanistan to honor students and staff at Heritage for their support of soldiers in the Lima Company.
Students and staff at Heritage Middle School participated in many activities to prepare for the Veterans Day Assembly on Monday, November 11. These included a poster making contest; the construction of a wall of honor; a daily Veterans Day trivia contest; and a writing campaign which resulted in 300 letters of thanks to service men and women being given to the Westerville American Legion Auxiliary. Pupils also learned about the military core values and incorporated them into the Heritage Pride Words – respect, responsibility, integrity, kindness and tolerance.
At the assembly, members of the Westerville American Legion Post 171 and others led a flag ceremony, and shared their reflections of being a part of the military. Veterans who attended included Bob Arn, Rodger Bock, Alan Briggs, Bill Cole, Mike Etling, Flo Evans, Gary Hinzman, and John McElhaney. An American flag was presented to the school by veteran Dan Bokros, a former Heritage student. The flag had been flown over Camp Leatherneck in Southern Afghanistan in 2010 to honor the students and staff at Heritage who were writing letters and sending care packages to the Marines who were part of the Lima Company. Bokros held up a stack of letters he had received while in combat three years ago, and the students were able to see what kind of impact was made by their acts of kindness. Heritage plans to conduct a school wide survey to find out how many students have active servicemen or women in their families and how the school can serve them.