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Veterans honored at H.O. Brittingham Elementary

Students connect with veterans via Zoom for school’s traditional ceremony
November 11, 2021

H.O. Brittingham Elementary fourth-graders honored America’s veterans with a Virtual Veterans Visit celebration Nov. 9.

Students Mason Fountain, Swayze Rogers, Owen Barron and Coben Stagg organized the event, said music teacher Michelle Taylor, and missed several recesses in order to coordinate event times, decorate the school and interview school employee veterans for segments on the morning video announcements.

Veterans, many of whom are family members or friends of HOB students and staff, Zoomed with students to share stories about their years of service. Students read poems and sang patriotic songs in their honor.

The Veterans Day tradition at HOB began in 2005 under the direction of retired music teacher Cheryl Howard, when HOB lost one of its former students, Lance Cpl. Richard “Chad” Clifton, Taylor said. Clifton was 19 years old when he died Feb. 3, 2005, while serving his country in Ar Ramadi, Iraq.

In 2005, Taylor said, students, staff and Clifton’s parents gathered in front of the school to sing patriotic songs and plant a tree in Clifton’s memory. The tradition has grown in the years since to include the recognition of HOB staff and family members who are veterans.

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