Seaford High School hosts breakfast for veterans

To show its support for those who served in the military, Seaford High School recently hosted a breakfast for students and their family members who are veterans.

Students from the high school and middle school brought relatives who served their country to the April 12 event, at which the guests were served bagels and coffee, and presented with gift baskets created by the school’s Booster club.

The students announced their family members, the branches of the military in which they served, and the places they were stationed. There were fathers who were deployed to the Iraq War and grandfathers who fought in Korea, and each announcement was applause by the dozens who crowded the high school cafeteria.

“It’s so supremely important to recognize the veterans that have laid the foundation for freedom that we have in this country,” district Superintendent Adele Pecora said, “and the fact that we’re recognizing the sacrifices that the families have made as well is incredibly appropriate.”

According to SHS Principal Nicole Schnabel, this is the first veterans breakfast the district has hosted. April is the Month of the Military Child, she noted, and the event encouraged not only students with parents who served, but their schoolmates as well to connect with veterans.

“All of us hear these stories,” Schnabel said, “and it’s really sweet watching them with their grandchildren and their children, because these children look up to their family members so much, and the legacy that they’re passing on to them is so special.”

Students weren’t the only ones who had family members with military experience. Assistant Principal Raphael Morey said he grew up hearing stories told by his father, who served in the Air Force during the Vietnam War.

“The stories we hear from veterans are inspiring, amazing, and they teach us so much,” Morey said.

Scott Gilbert, a social studies teacher at the high school, spoke about his father, Jules Gilbert, who served in the Army in World War II, as a radio repairman and a member of the Ghost Army, a secretive unit of artists, designers and engineers who used deceptive tactics to mislead and confuse enemy forces.

His father’s unit, Gilbert recounted, was tasked with drawing German fire while Allied forces crossed the Rhine River near the end of the war. According to Gilbert, members of the unit didn’t believe they would make it home, because they were made to look intimidating despite the relatively few weapons they had to defend themselves.

“They all thought they were going on a suicide mission,” Gilbert said. “They made fake tanks, fake military bases, fake soldiers, fake artillery.”

Gilbert didn’t know about his father’s military service until 1996, when the story of the Ghost Army became declassified. Members of the secret unit were told never to talk about their heroic actions, which saved an estimated 20,000 to 40,000 lives, according to Gilbert.

“After the war, they all got a letter from Eisenhower, thanking them for their service,” Gilbert said, referring to then Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower, “which ended with, ‘P.S., if you tell anybody about this, you’ll hang.’”

In March, almost 80 years after the end of World War II, members of the Ghost Army were awarded Congressional Gold Medals at a ceremony in Washington. Gilbert attended the event to represent his father, who died in 2003, at age 83. “It was an amazing experience,” he said.

In addition to the veterans, the school district invited members of the Seaford American Legion to the breakfast. The Legion, Schnabel said, has always been supportive of the school district. Legion Chaplain Charles Wroblewski said the event was a wonderful tribute to the veterans, showcasing Seaford’s strength as a tight-knit community where residents know and help one another.

“This community is just great,” Wroblewski said, “because it’s like small-town America.”

At the breakfast, Morey announced that the high school had been selected to take part in a program sponsored by the Gary Sinese Foundation, a public charity that honors veterans and first responders. The program, known as Soaring Valor, focuses on the concept of learning from veterans. In August, 20 students will be selected to travel to the National WWII Museum in New Orleans to take part in a three-day learning event, with each student paired with a World War II veteran for the purpose of learning about their experiences and the sacrifices they made.

“It’s another great way to build relationships with our students and veterans to learn more about their sacrifices,” Morey said of the program.

Pecora says she hoped the veterans breakfast would grow, and more students would bring family members who served in the military. “We hope that this event gets bigger and bigger as the years go on,” she said. “It’s a prideful moment for Seaford and our Viking pride.”