Local schools celebrated veterans, active military personnel and first responders over the past week with tributes, music and food.
Veterans Day events are set to conclude with a public celebration on the federal holiday Wednesday, Nov. 11, at 2 p.m., hosted by South Berwick VFW Post 5744 at the Community Center.
Caroline Arakelian, MSAD 35 superintendent, addressed the 26th annual Veterans Assembly at Marshwood Middle School Friday, Nov. 6.
“Today is about more than a date on a calendar or a history lesson,” Arakelian said. “It is about people. It is about women and men who have stepped forward to serve something greater than themselves.”
The superintendent encouraged students to connect with veterans at the assembly or wherever they may encounter them.
“If you walk by a veteran today or any day, be curious. Ask them about their experiences and listen to their stories,” she suggested.
Among the veterans in attendance was a sole World War II veteran, 102-year-old Navy veteran Raymond Payeur, a longtime resident of Sanford now living in Berwick.
Other veterans, students and faculty lined up to applaud Payeur as he walked into the assembly with Kristine Bisson, Middle School choral director and coordinator of the event. Payeur was only 21 years old when the deadliest war in history ended on Sept. 2, 1945, after taking more than 60 million lives, the majority of them civilians.
In addition to veterans, crew members from the USS Washington, a nuclear submarine being upgraded this year at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, and area first responders attended the event.
Earlier in the week at Eliot Elementary, veterans were seated in a place of honor around the outdoor flagpole while students from pre-k through third grade offered songs of thanks, according to the school’s Facebook page.
The annual veterans assembly at Great Works School on Monday, Nov. 9, featured the school chorus, the fifth-grade band, and students reading essays thanking veterans, followed by a breakfast reception for veterans and their families in the school cafeteria.
