Oxford vets honored at primary school

OXFORD – The students and teachers at the Oxford Academy Primary School held a special Morning Program for Veterans Day on Friday. Paula Williams hosted the event, the children sang patriotic songs, and recognized and thanked Veterans for serving in the armed forces and for keeping our country free and safe.
The idea of honoring veterans was fresh in many of the student’s minds, as they recently learned about Lt. Colonel Matt Redding, an Oxford Academy graduate. Matt is the commander of 626th Brigade Support Battalion, with the 101st Airborne in Iraq. They made Matt letters, cards, and drawings to show their support.  
The honored Veterans who attended the Morning Program represented several branches of the service: the Navy, Army, Marine Corp, and Air Force and spanned conflicts in WWII, Korean War, and the Vietnam War. The Veteran guests shared, in a few words, their time of service and where served.
The Vets attending, mostly from Oxford were: Patricia Marso, Army of the U.S. Nurse Corps. in WWII; Bruce Whitney, Navy on USS Independence - CVA 62 aircraft carrier in Vietnam War; Elbert “Bud” Mohr, Army Engineer in WWII; James Campeau, Marine Corp. Transports Pilot in Korean War; Bob Carey, Army, 76th Infantry in WWII; Michael Fucci, Army, 25th Infantry in Vietnam; Shaun Detweiler (Oxford High School teacher), Marine Corp. Assault Vehicles, 22-years of service (been around the world 3 times!); Ken Swartout, Army, 76th Infantry from Germany to Austria; and Cora Swartout, Air Force Secretary who traveled before coming back to Oxford.
One interesting subject brought up was that of women in the service. Pat Marso explained that when she was an Army nurse in the 1940’s, the service only had about 2% enlisted women. Today that number has increased to about 29% women. It was impressive to have two women Veterans, Mrs. Marso and Mrs. Swartout, as guests.
At the conclusion of the Morning Program the Veterans and family members viewed a unique paper flag on display. It was filled with the names of Veterans known by the primary school students. Guests were invited to add other Vet’s names as well. After, they were treated to refreshments.

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