West Babylon Students Honor American Veterans

Members of the West Babylon School District came together to demonstrate their appreciation for the brave men and women who have risked their lives to protect American freedoms, as they have done every year.

Throughout the month of November, students took part in a wide variety of activities that paid homage to veterans:

Elementary students of Tooker Avenue, Forest Avenue, South Bay and John F. Kennedy Elementary Schools wrote letters of thanks to the hardworking troops overseas and the veterans who have served our country.  Some letters were sent to a base in Afghanistan, while others were sent to veterans who attend the local American Legion Hall in West Babylon or reside in the Long Island State Veterans Home in Stony Brook.  

The junior high and Santapogue Elementary displayed images of veterans throughout their hallways, including family members of former students, faculty and staff who served or are currently serving in the armed forces.

“They make such big sacrifices so that we can be free, like being away from their families for long periods of time, so we need to honor those sacrifices,” said sixth-grader Michael Linder. Linder and his brothers, seventh-grader Derek and sixth-grader Adam, were recently surprised in school when their father John Linder of the U.S. Air Force returned home after completing his fourth tour in the Middle East.

Under the supervision of teachers Jim Egbert, Lynette Jabour and Christina Ludwig, 10th-grade honors English classes at West Babylon Senior High School have compiled a book of interviews that they’ve gathered from the veterans in their lives. The compilations created through this project, initiated by Mr. Egbert, are printed every year and distributed to various veteran groups, such as the American Legion, and are shared with present-day soldiers.

 This year the project included the selling of T-shirts, which students wore to school on Nov. 8.  All proceeds went to the Wounded Warrior Project.

Courtesy Alison DeMaria.