School Thanks Veterans for Service with Luncheon

Students at Anthony Wayne Middle School thanked a group of veterans for their service to the United Sates with a special luncheon on Monday.

Nearly 40 veterans attended the ninth annual luncheon, many from the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 174 in town. The veterans were mostly parents and grandparents of students and teachers at the school. There were veterans from every branch of the armed forces who fought in every major United States war from World War II to the War in Iraq.

Michael Falso was a first lieutenant in the Army. He was in charge of about 70 personnel as part of a NATO unit that helped repair damaged vehicles. He was stationed in Germany when the Berlin Wall separating East and West Germany was torn down in November 1989.

“I remember all of the East Germans came into West Germany wanting a car and a job,” Falso said. “I remember we’d go out in a convoy and there’d be Germans waving American flags. I remember how appreciative they were to us for what we did.”

Falso said that a solider doesn’t have to fire a gun in order to have an impact on someone’s life.

“Even in peace time you can make a contribution to people’s lives that you can’t make anywhere else,” Falso said.

George Hulme was a private first class in the Army. He was attending the luncheon with his daughters Samantha and Rachel.

“I went into the service because I was initially told I couldn’t go into the service,” said Hulme. “I wanted to help others and be a medic and eventually I was accepted.”

Hulme served as a combat medic. He received as much training as a nurse receives.

“The basic training, which was a big culture shock, we all had to go through it,” Hulme said. “That’s what I remember the most, that shared experience we all had.”

Brooke Benavides, a language arts teacher at Anthony Wayne, runs the annual luncheon. Attendance at the event has steadily increased since it was first held. The Anthony Wayne Parent Teacher Organization helped run the luncheon.

“We need to acknowledge our veterans for the sacrifices they’ve made so we can enjoy the freedoms we have in this country,” Benavides said.

Two eighth-graders, Morgan La Sala and Tim Mazyrko, read poems they wrote to commemorate the veterans.

“I give my thanks, for what it’s worth, to the best men and women on this Earth,” Mazyrko said. 

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