Sherwood Baptist Church honors veterans - WALB.com, Albany News, Weather, Sports

It's a day that Americans come together to honor the sacrifices that veterans of all wars and conflicts have made.  Veteran's Day is Sunday, but Sherwood Baptist Church held their event Friday for veterans like David Hill who served in the Navy.

"I served from '65 - actively from '65 to '69.  And I had two years in the reserve," he said.

Jim Moree was in the Army.

"I served from August of 1970 until August of 1973," he said.

Their time in the service was a turbulent one in American history, it was the Vietnam Era.

"There was a lot of social unrest.  And there was a lot of disagreement about the war itself," said Hill.

Largely because of that unrest, it took a while - and another way - for the American public to recognize what they had been through.

Moree said, "later on - especially the Desert Storm Event - when we had soldiers that were leaving this country to go there.  And the whole nation stood behind them.  And I think that was a direct consequence of the fact that so many Vietnam veterans had faced such hostility."

Friday, Sherwood Baptist Church tried to help recognize the contributions of the Vietnam veterans along with those from other wars and conflicts ranging from World War Two to the Global War on Terror.

There was a parade of veterans, songs from choirs of all sizes, films and speeches.  But the most poignant part of the day.

While the veterans and their families were the honored guests at the ceremony, it was the students who played the largest role.  They've learned about what the day means. 

Kim Greene, a First Grade Teacher at Sherwood Christian School said, "we did a coloring book to understand about veterans and the different wars that have taken place."

But it's about more than academic lessons for these students.

The students at Sherwood Christian School have learned about the Vietnam War from their history books and you can too by simply going to the public library and checking out a book like this one or buying it at the book store.

But there's something about seeing the veterans who were involved in that war that really drives the lessons of it home.

Greene has had veterans in her classroom before.

"It goes from the textbook to a person," she said.

The hope is that these students will take the things that they learned to heart.

So that they can try as hard as possible to avoid conflicts like Vietnam in the future.

Schultz says more Vietnam veterans are attending the service as World War Two vets pass away.  He also says veterans have become more comfortable talking about their experiences.

This is the 10th year for Sherwood's Veteran's Day ceremony.

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