To celebrate Veterans Day, a special assembly was held for grades 4 and 5 during which a film on the history of Veterans Day was shown. It was followed by a brief talk on the life of a soldier by upper school math teacher Anthony Silk, who spent two years in the U.S. Navy flying the electronic warfare plane the EA-6B Prowler.

In his speech, Silk talked about how members of the military, be they in the Navy, Army, Air Force or Marines, all share three things: “a love of the United States, a desire to serve and a willingness to sacrifice.”

Silk’s speech delved into each one of these areas. Because of the love of their country, he said, soldiers feel a duty to ensure that American citizens can continue to enjoy their freedom and way of life. “We want you to have the safety and freedom to choose what you want to do with your life,” he said. “We are very proud of what we do.”

Soldiers’ desire to serve, he said, often takes them to faraway places where they may be separated from loved ones for long periods. This was also a part of his third point, sacrifice. “But sacrifice can mean much more,” he continued. “Being in the military is often very dangerous. People get hurt, some are killed. But while it can be scary, the reason we leave our families for a while, and the reason we take those risks, is because we believe that we are making the world safer.”