WESTOVER AIR RESERVE BASE, Mass. -- Sunderland Elementary School hosted its 11th Veterans Day Observance Ceremony on Nov. 8, 2019, in front of Sunderland, Massachusetts Town Hall.
The hour long ceremony concluded with the Westover Honor Guard, Senior Airman Yan Soto and Senior Airman Tyler Corliss, conducting the folding the flag honors. The School Principal Ben Barshefsky told the student and attendees, "The way we show respect is to fly the flag at half staff, for all of the veterans that have given their lives for their country," he said and to further explain the importance of honoring those who served and the importance of appreciating the sacrifices made for them by the past generations of vets.
Lt. Col. Daniel Van Dalsen, retired, was a guest speaker. Van Dalsen served at Westover in a number of capacities.
The service members joined the students after the ceremony, where they visited classrooms and talked with students, answering questions and sharing information about themselves. There were service members from Westover Air Reserve Base and University of Massachusetts Amherst Reserve Officer Training Corps, in addition to veterans from Hale-Clapp Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 3295. In all about 30 service members from all branches of the military attended.
The school has 205 students in grades Pre-K through sixth and is 45 minutes north of Westover Air Reserve Base.