Honor Flight IE & Corona High Show Appreciation for Local Veterans

CORONA >> This year, May 25 marked the fourth anniversary that the Honor Flight Inland Empire celebrated a myriad of Inland Empire (IE) veterans at Corona High School, hosted by Jeff Perry, social science teacher. He partnered with the U.S. history staff to bring about this rich historical celebration of the brave locals that have served the country. Perry is well known to spend many hours to ensure this event goes as planned. As each serviceman and servicewoman were escorted to their assigned tables, an audience of over 600 juniors was able to engage them with questions in which they, in turn, would be enlightened by their responses. The purpose of the event is so students of the junior class can interview Veterans to learn about their military history. The senior class oversees this project by ensuring everyone is checked in, receives a badge, table assignment, and refreshments. Each veteran represented various military campaigns from World War II, Korea, Vietnam, Desert Storm, and Iraqi Freedom. After entering the gym and finding the assigned table, students were ushered in to find their veteran. With four to six students at each table with scripted questions at the ready, the meet and greet began. The ROTC students presented the colors representing the U.S. & California Flags. "Taps" was played to recognize fallen soldiers, then the National Anthem and recognition of event supporters. The history being shared came from veterans 69 to 99 years of age. Students were able to experience living history from the heroes and she-roes that were part of an era that included volunteering and being called to serve by Uncle Sam. Grand Terrace City Council Member Bill Hussey escorted his grandfather-in-law, Jim Haynes, to share his military involvement during WWII. The students asked their scripted questions but had no problem going off script while becoming more interested in what they heard as discussions went on for the next several hours as veterans passed on valued history to students. The exchange electrified the room and immediately closed any perceived gap in generations. After Perry brought the interviews to a close, students and veterans erupted into photo ops as they posed for "selfies." After all goodbyes were said, the students returned to class and refreshments were served to participants, allowing veterans to share experiences with each other. The first event in 2013 was held with the purpose to inspire greatness and to educate a generation of juniors on the history of the United States military. The added bonus of being able to converse with each veteran sparked a lasting impression and will continue to do so for many generations to come.