Love Creek Elementary celebrates veterans
Love Creek Elementary students welcomed special guests Nov. 13, when a host of U.S. veterans visited the school to talk about their experiences in the armed forces.
Jeremiah Smith, who was escorted by son Noah Smith, told Karen Warner’s fourth-grade class about his Navy life aboard the USS Ogden, an amphibious transport dock, where he served as master helmsmen.
“I really liked my job, and I got paid a ridiculously small amount,” he said. “I didn’t do it for the money. I did it to defend my nation and serve my country.”
Students peppered Smith with a range of questions; he answered as quickly as he could.
“One of the coolest things I ever saw was when the Blue Angels flew between my ship and the Golden Gate Bridge,” he said.
The scariest, he said, was a dangerous fuel oil fire onboard. “We lost a couple men,” he said.
Smith said he keeps in touch with his former shipmates.
“You form very tight bonds with the people you serve with, because you don’t see anyone else for a long period of time,” he said.
Service men and women from the U.S. Army, Navy, Coast Guard and Marines visited every grade. Students met visitors in the office, toured them around the school, accompanied them in each classroom, and presented veterans with gifts and refreshments to end their visit.
