One of the longest-running Veterans Day programs in the area is set to unite the Steel Valley community in honoring servicemen and women of the past, present and future.
Steel Valley School District will host its 28th annual Veterans Day program on Nov. 11 at 9 a.m. in the high school auditorium.
"We have kids participating in it from kindergarten through 12th grade," Veterans Day Program committee member John Tichon said. "The kindergarten students come and sing. They've attended every event up to this point. The elementary kids participate in a poster contest. From grades 6-12, we have essay contests.
"This is our 28th straight year and we're proud of it. It permits the adults in the community to interact with the children."
"This committee started 28 years ago," committee member Jill Fleming-Salopek said. "Right now, Veterans Day assemblies have become popular in schools. When we started doing this, it wasn't normal in schools."
She said the assembly bridges the generation gap.
"We do different things to bridge the gap of understanding of the sacrifice of the veterans," Fleming-Salopek said. "We try to get the students to articulate it through music, artwork and writing."
The theme will be "Service and Sacrifice."
Also planned is a tribute to Marine Corps veteran Vincent Rodgers Sr., who served in the Pacific Theater during World War II.
"Since he came out of the service, he visited the veteran's hospital (in Aspinwall) at least once a week," committee member and Homestead Mayor Betty Esper said. "He put in 4,000 volunteer hours. That's one of the reasons we're honoring him."
"He's in his early 90s and he still does that," Tichon said. "He's quite a guy."
Steel Valley High School student Aaron Bott will be sworn in to the Marine Corps at the ceremony, as well.
There will be a memorial tribute to Pfc. Albert Colletto Jr., Lance Cpl. Kenneth A. Stanciu, Superior Court Judge John G. Brosky, Staff Sgt. Paul L. Vernon, John Palo, John Posipanka, Michael Curtin Sr., Medal of Honor recipient Technical Sgt. John "Jack" D. Kelly, Ed Lutheran, Edward Esper, James Campbell, Robert Hemminger, Ron Hess, William Connelly, John Deffenbaugh and John Mrazik.
Brosky, who passed away Oct. 10, was on the Veterans Day Program Committee. He served in the Army during World War II and later joined the Pennsylvania National Guard.
Brosky was an Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas judge for nearly 20 years and a state Superior Court judge for 22 years.
Edward Rock Sr., a charter member of the Veterans Day program committee, will receive the 2010 Mind, Heart and Spirit Lifetime Achievement Award from Duquesne University, his alma mater, at an upcoming ceremony. He served in the China-Burma-India Theater in World War II.
Rock co-founded Duquesne's Beta Pi Sigma fraternity. He retired from Westinghouse and volunteered at his church and with various veterans and civic organizations.
Veterans Day programs also will take place at Barrett Elementary on Nov. 5 at 9:15 a.m. and Park Elementary on Nov. 12 at 9 a.m.
Fleming-Salopek said one of the goals of the committee is to continue to include new community members and younger veterans and their families in the Veterans Day program.
By Stacy Lee, MCKEESPORT DAILY NEWS
Monday, November 1, 2010
