Christian Academy honors veterans

New Jersey United Christian Academy hosts Veterans Day ceremony (Nov. 10)

By: Marisa Maldonado
   UPPER FREEHOLD — It’s been more than 50 years since Maj. Tom Weghorst served in Korea with the Marines, and Monday’s Veterans Day ceremony at the New Jersey United Christian Academy was his chance to dust off his blue uniform and try it on for size after all those years.
   But after putting on the uniform, his long absence from the military was evident from the jacket’s tight fit to the hat that wouldn’t come down to his ears.
   "I thought it would (fit) because I lost my hair," Maj. Weghorst said to laughter from the audience. "That didn’t help."
   Kidding aside, the ceremony earlier this week gave veterans and their families a chance to remember their experiences and the school’s 40 students the opportunity to learn from the past. The United Christian Academy is a private high school that opened its doors in Cream Ridge last year on Holmes Mill Road.
   Members of the military and the students participated in the event, displaying flags from each of the armed forces’ five branches, singing patriotic songs and remembering the 1.9 million American soldiers who died during major conflicts in the 20th century.
   New Brunswick resident Connie Zangara said the ceremony brought back memories of the experiences of her late husband, a Korean War veteran and Purple Heart recipient, and her four brothers who served in World War II.
   Her family hung four gold stars in their house in the 1940s to symbolize each brother that was serving overseas. Ms. Zangara and her mother always eagerly awaited word from any of them.
   "Every time my mother got a telegram, she would pass out thinking it was bad news," Ms. Zangara said.
   All four of Ms. Zangara’s brothers returned safely. But participants in the ceremony, which was organized largely by students, were careful to honor those who were not so lucky.
   Dawn Fossnes, one of the academy’s co-principals, said the ceremony was held to give the students a chance to hear the veterans’ stories.
   "We need to always remember the men and women who sacrificed to serve," Ms. Fossnes said. "Being raised in the United States, we sometimes take for granted the freedoms we have in this country."
   Veterans in the audience were invited to come forward and receive a gift from the school during the ceremony. Several veterans from each conflict, from World War II to the current war in Iraq, walked forward to applause from the audience.
   Rachel Miller, a senior at the academy, said she was particularly moved when they asked veterans of the Iraq conflict to walk forward. Her 30-year-old brother is serving in Iraq with the Air Force and a friend of hers recently returned from Iraq.But Major Weghorst reminded the audience that a large part of military service is spreading peace through reconstruction efforts rather than direct combat. In Korea, he helped build a school in Kyonggi[jde: encyclopedia.com spells it Kyonggi (with an I not a Y): ], a town bordering Seoul. The primary school still operates today, he said, even though it was rebuilt after a fire in the 1966.
   "I jumped at the opportunity," he said during his speech. "I wanted to show them that we’re not there to tear up the land. We’re there to construct the land."
   Even though he had a pistol strapped to his body the whole time in South Korea, Major Weghorst said the mission was strictly to help the Koreans rebuild their lives.
   "There was no fighting going on," Major Weghorst said after the ceremony. "I’m not a hero."
   Despite this statement, several of the students said they admired the openness that Major Weghorst and other veterans showed talking about their experiences.
   Rachel said she only knows about her grandfather’s war experiences through "the grapevine" of her grandmother and mother, who found letters that he wrote during the war.
   Senior Melissa Woodhull also didn’t get a chance to hear about her grandfathers’ experiences in the war before their deaths three years ago.
   "I never got a chance," Melissa said.
   But the three girls appreciated the chance to participate in the ceremony. Rachel wore a Navy sailor’s uniform from World War II, and Melissa and junior Deanna McCarty donned Army fatigues. Deanna said participating in the ceremony gave her a new perspective on the experiences of veterans.
   "Since we hear about (the conflict) so much, it kind of sank in," Deanna said.
   The girls participated in a flag-folding ceremony, in which they folded the flag 13 times as a student read the meaning of each of the folds. Bob Moeller, a board member of the academy who served in the Army, said he didn’t know the significance of the flag’s foldings prior to the ceremony, only that the 13 folds stood for the original 13 colonies.
   The problems Korea faced immediately following the war lasted for many years, Mr. Moeller said. He served in Korea during the 1970s, and helped to bring back 10 Korean orphans to be adopted by American parents.
   "A lot of Koreans weren’t capable or willing to take in kids who weren’t related to them," Mr. Moeller said. "(We) brought 10 kids to American parents who couldn’t wait to have a kid."
   As Mr. Moeller realized that those Korean orphans would be in their 30s today, he reflected on the need to create peace so the military someday will be unnecessary.
   "No one is better for being in conflict," Mr. Moeller said. "It teaches you things about yourself you wish you didn’t know."