PUXICO — The school district, students and Veterans of Foreign Wars Post (VFW) partnered Wednesday to celebrate America’s veterans with a star-spangled event.
The Veterans Day observance took place at Puxico High School’s Arnold Ryan Gymnasium.
The Wake Foundation’s Robert Wake, a veteran of Iraq wars who was wounded in combat, was born and reared at Kennett and now lives at Poplar Bluff.
He delivered the afternoon’s keynote address.
Students who participate in the school’s Family Career and Community Leaders of America program welcomed visitors and prepared a luncheon of ham, green beans, corn, mashed potatoes and gravy, dessert and drinks for approximately 70 veterans and families.
Guests enjoyed the meal and were encouraged to stay for the festivities.
VFW Post 7822 Commander Duane Martin said the organization sponsors programs dedicated to patriotism among students, the Patriot Pen and Voice of Democracy writing contests.
“This is an annual event with the school,” he said. “That’s what is fabulous.
“The community support and the school support we have are overwhelming.”
A teacher recognized as Teacher of the Year, Tonna O’Dell, helps with that, he said. She teaches sixth to eighth-grade social studies.
This year’s First Place Patriot’s Pen award went to Alyssa Owens with Andrea Clark and Caiden Jackson accepting honors for second and third places, respectively.
Ella Dunivan was first place winner in the Voice of Democracy category, with Stephanie Day and Aricka Robinson placing second and third.
All were honored with medals and certificates of merit from the VFW and Auxiliary.
Former Puxico R-8 Schools Superintendent George Sifford, 96, a World War II U.S. Navy veteran and “the oldest man in town” was awarded a numbered and recorded Quilt of Honor to commemorate his service to the United States, much to the delight of the crowd that rose to its feet in recognition.
“I was assigned to an aircraft carrier,” Sifford said of his military service. “And I spent 16 years here as superintendent.
“I’m here today in memory of all the veterans of our country. I feel lucky to be here.”
Orville Miller, 94 of Puxico and a veteran of World War II, was on hand for the event.
“This is really nice,” Miller said of the observation. “It’s important these kids understand what it means to be a veteran and how veterans played some kind of role in each of their lives.”
Wake, who received the Purple Heart for the injuries he sustained in combat, said he arrived in Iraq two decades ago.
“I hadn’t planned on going,” Wake told the crowd. “I had 21 1/2 years of service already.
“I was in Baghdad for a year. We arrested a lot of Saddam’s army.”
Wake said surprise ambushes, hours-long firefights and unscrupulous enemy engagements during his hitch resulted in him convincing himself he’d face life-threatening injuries.
On May 16, 2004, that became reality. Sgt. Wake was wounded severely when his detail received intense enemy fire.
“At about 3 o’clock in the morning, after moving back from a machine gun nest on the roof of a police station, me and the medic decided to have an MRE in the dark,” Wake said. “We had been in a 17-hour gun battle. We were fighting very hard being up on the roof. There were 16 of us and about 5,000 of them. The medic lit a cigarette and I heard a bomb come down the tube. It exploded between me and the medic.”
That was the beginning of an ordeal that left Wake with 141 bits of shrapnel in his body.
“I really remember the bright flash,” he said. “And I remember feeling like a bigger part of my body was on fire from the shrapnel.
“It broke my nose. It knocked out my upper front teeth, shattered my right ankle and blew out my left knee and tore my frontal lobe.”
Wake was in and out of consciousness for hours, awakened once by screaming, he said.
“It was the medic,” Wake explained. “The bomb exploded and got him from the waist down from behind.
“I remember thinking, telling my son, who was in school at SEMO, goodbye. I figured it was over.
“Somehow I had crawled across the roof. I realized I was still alive, and I just said, ‘God. If you just help me get home ...’ And I went out again. The last time I came to, I had all my gear on and I had fallen backward through a window into this room ...”
Filled with frightened Iraqi policemen, he explained.
“I went out and when I came to again, the Army had me in a stairwell,” Wake said. “I could hear them calling my name over the radio, reporting there was blood coming from my ears, nose, eyes and I said ‘This is not good.’
“My best friend and another gentleman carried me five flights of stairs. I have no memory of it. They got me into a Humvee and we went through another ambush before I could get out. Something I thought was five minutes lasted more than five hours. That’s how much time I lost during that. And I was awarded the Purple Heart on July 4 in Baghdad.”
School Superintendent Cindy Crabb said the ceremony included every student enrolled in kindergarten through 12th grade and noted service is of great importance to everyone at the district.
“We are, No. 1, a service-oriented area and community,” Crabb said. “Our VFW and our veterans interact with our students.
“We realize the importance of their service in our everyday lives. We realize the privileges and rights we have are because of their selflessness.”