Empty seats and named tributes mark Reagan Elementary's veteran tribute
Students at the Clovis school led an assembly featuring poetry and music to pay tribute to military family members on Friday.
By Harper Foster ·
Reagan Elementary in Clovis honored veterans from its staff and student families with a special assembly on Friday morning.
The event was organized in part by Bailey Ettner, whose brother Anthony Butterfield was a member of the Buchanan 8, a group of soldiers and Marines from Buchanan High School who died in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Each veteran was recognized by name during the ceremony, and students read poetry and sang to mark the occasion.
A student read the poem "America's White Table," which describes a seat left empty to symbolize those missing from the ranks.
Harper Ely, the winner of a school essay contest, read her work aloud and said she wanted her peers to understand the importance of voting and recognizing the safety veterans provide.
The assembly concluded with students singing "You're a grand old flag," followed immediately by a special breakfast for the veterans and their families.
The breakfast room was decorated with student artwork, including a drawing created by one of the grandkids of U.S. Army veteran Chris Brezman.
Brezman said he was surprised by the invitation but honored to attend because his grandchildren asked him to come.
He added that he appreciated the effort to instill a sense of history and patriotism in young children so they understand where the country came from.
Ettner stated that the goal was to ensure students recognize that freedom comes with a cost and that veterans and their families have made substantial sacrifices.
