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Dedham Middle School held it’s annual Veterans’ Day assembly on Thursday, Nov. 10, including the pledge, taps, a flag folding ceremony and remarks from a veteran.
In a short speech about the importance of Veterans’ Day, student Hannah Ryan said that millions had served in the military and were now veterans.
Debra Gately, principal of Dedham Middle School, said her father was a veteran. She introduced the speaker for the assembly, veteran Robert Lothrop.
Lothrop, a first lieutenant in the army during the Vietnam War, spoke about why he entered the military, what conditions were like when he was abroad and about what his experience was like serving in the military.
With a draft status that would almost ensure he would be chosen to serve, Lothrop decided to join up himself, and entered the military after graduating.
He compared at least a part of the military to being a middle school student.
“You’ve got to show up, you have to be there and you have to be there on time,” he said.
Lothrop went to Vietnam to serve in September of 1968 and was there for eight months. A platoon commander, he was in charge of 30 soldiers.
Weather conditions ranged from hot and wet, to hot and dry to monsoon weather. “I was always wet,” he said.
Lothrop talked about how troops in his platoon always got along and that people shared packages from home. Most days were quiet, but about once every two weeks, they would be attacked by surprise, he said.
He added that his platoon was lucky and that there were no casualties to combat, and few to booby traps.
Students asked Lothrop whether he missed his family and what the hardest part of being a soldier was. Lothrop said he missed his parents and siblings greatly. The hardest part was the mental conditioning of being a soldier; the physical parts he could handle, he said.
Following Lothrop’s talk was a slide show of veterans related to Dedham Middle School students and staff. They ranged from those who served in World War II to those who had served in Iraq and Afghanistan. Some had served one year, and some had served for their entire careers.
Before the ceremony closed with taps, performed by seventh grader Samuel Levens, the student council performed a flag folding ceremony. Each of the 13 folds had a significant meaning, from the first fold, which signified life, to the last, which represented the original 13 colonies that began America.
Staff writer Dave Eisenstadter can be reached at 781-433-8336 or deisenstadter@wickedlocal.com.
Dedham Middle School held it’s annual Veterans’ Day assembly on Thursday, Nov. 10, including the pledge, taps, a flag folding ceremony and remarks from a veteran.
In a short speech about the importance of Veterans’ Day, student Hannah Ryan said that millions had served in the military and were now veterans.
Debra Gately, principal of Dedham Middle School, said her father was a veteran. She introduced the speaker for the assembly, veteran Robert Lothrop.
Lothrop, a first lieutenant in the army during the Vietnam War, spoke about why he entered the military, what conditions were like when he was abroad and about what his experience was like serving in the military.
With a draft status that would almost ensure he would be chosen to serve, Lothrop decided to join up himself, and entered the military after graduating.
He compared at least a part of the military to being a middle school student.
“You’ve got to show up, you have to be there and you have to be there on time,” he said.
Lothrop went to Vietnam to serve in September of 1968 and was there for eight months. A platoon commander, he was in charge of 30 soldiers.
Weather conditions ranged from hot and wet, to hot and dry to monsoon weather. “I was always wet,” he said.
Lothrop talked about how troops in his platoon always got along and that people shared packages from home. Most days were quiet, but about once every two weeks, they would be attacked by surprise, he said.
He added that his platoon was lucky and that there were no casualties to combat, and few to booby traps.
Students asked Lothrop whether he missed his family and what the hardest part of being a soldier was. Lothrop said he missed his parents and siblings greatly. The hardest part was the mental conditioning of being a soldier; the physical parts he could handle, he said.
Following Lothrop’s talk was a slide show of veterans related to Dedham Middle School students and staff. They ranged from those who served in World War II to those who had served in Iraq and Afghanistan. Some had served one year, and some had served for their entire careers.
Before the ceremony closed with taps, performed by seventh grader Samuel Levens, the student council performed a flag folding ceremony. Each of the 13 folds had a significant meaning, from the first fold, which signified life, to the last, which represented the original 13 colonies that began America.
Staff writer Dave Eisenstadter can be reached at 781-433-8336 or deisenstadter@wickedlocal.com.
