Veteran’s Day in the Highlands
This morning Highlands Council and Issaquah Highlands Community Association co-hosted a special flag raising ceremony at Village Green Park to honor our veterans.
Veteran, Issaquah Highlands resident and Pearl Harbor photographer/author, Jerry Kaufman provided a very special flag for the occasion. “On my last Pearl Harbor book-signing visit the National Parks Service gave me an official, working American flag that has flown at the USS Arizona Memorial.” Jerry’s flag will fly all day.
Local Boy Scout Troop #697 presented and posted the colors. Highlands Council President, Larry Norton emceed the event, welcoming State Senator Mark Mullet and Mayor Fred Butler, to speak. Mayor Butler is a retired U.S. Army Corps of Engineers colonel whose 26 years of military service include command at every level from lieutenant through colonel.
Among the honored guests were Jay Rodne, Washington State Representative, 5th District, who has served in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve for the past 20 years. Also representing the 5th District, Chad Magendanz was in attendance. He served 12 years in the U.S. Navy as a nuclear submarine officer. His two boys, Quinn and Duncan, currently serve in the Navy Jr. ROTC program at Liberty High School.
About 60 people attended, many of them veterans and families of those currently serving.
And for your continued Veteran’s Day consideration…
From November 2014 Connections
My Media Picks for Veteran’s Day
By Josh, Zhanson, Junior at Issaquah High School, Resident Central Park
The A Boy at War series, made up of the books A Boy at War, A Boy No More, and Heroes Don’t Run, are three children’s historical fiction chapter books set around the attack of Pearl Harbor in 1941. The books’ language is relatively simple, and they provide some wonderful early insight into the time period and the mindset of the youth of that era. I recommend this series for any kids eight and up looking for a personal take on Veteran’s Day.
My Brother Sam is Dead is a children’s book that your child may or may not have read, depending on the school curriculum. A Newberry Honor Award Winner, My Brother Sam is Dead follows a young boy, torn between the British and the Americans as the Revolutionary War comes to a head. His brother sided with the revolutionaries, but his father remains loyal to the British, leading to some deep conflicts. This tale for all ages teaches many important lessons on life and remains a historical classic.
Beneath Hill 60 is a movie about a company of Australian tunnelers in World War I who dug tunnels to undermine (pun intended) the enemy in Europe. With good measures of suspense, atmosphere, and emotion, it gives a good, realistic take on what it meant to be a soldier. While it may be rated R, there really isn’t too much that younger viewers would find difficult to tolerate (I think they swear once and a man dies, but that’s it really). Historically authentic down to the smallest detail, this movie shows the true price of war.
Another classic, All Quiet on the Western Front, is an excellent World War I novel for older readers. It’s taught at Issaquah High School for some 10th grade English classes, and is an intensely candid and revealing take on the conditions and the morale of German soldiers in World War I. Definitely recommended for a slower, more contemplative view on war and humanity.
