Vets honored at Garfield-Palouse Middle School assembly

Veterans and their families were honored by their communities at the Veterans’ Day Assembly at Garfield-Palouse Middle School Nov. 6.

The program, directed by choir director Rebecca Hemphill, featured keynote speaker Brigadier General Carleton Waldrop, an Air Force and Air National Guard veteran who currently serves on the Pullman City Council, and Charlene Baldwin, a Palouse resident and para-educator whose son Jacob Henry Demand gave his life in the service of his country in Iraq in 2004.

The audience of more than 300 included veterans, families, community members, students and staff from the Oakesdale, Garfield and Palouse Elementary Schools, and the Garfield-Palouse Middle and High Schools.

General Waldrop spoke about the importance of military service to protecting American freedoms, and the sacrifices made by veterans in every generation.

Ariel Hoffman, the middle school student body president, presented her essay “Freedom Isn’t Free,” which won the school’s Veterans’ Day writing competition.

Mrs. Baldwin shared the very personal evolution of her own thoughts on Veterans’ Day, starting as a young girl thinking about her father’s military service and culminating with the loss of her young son Jake in Iraq.

After Mrs. Baldwin concluded her remarks, the Garfield-Palouse School singers closed the assembly with the moving song “American Tears” in honor of the veterans.