(There will be no school today in honor of Veterans Day.)
As the country struggles through the confusion and frustration surrounding this year's presidential election, Col. Jon Morrow reminded Carson Middle School students that in some countries elections can turn bloody.
Morrow, chief of staff for the Nevada National Guard, told students American troops are in Bosnia right now to ensure that citizens are able to go to the ballot box and cast their votes without fear of violence.
"They would be unable to do that without our protection," he said. "That's the difference between our country and the others - our veterans have fought for that."
Morrow spoke to eighth-graders as part of a flag retirement ceremony Thursday held to honor veterans.
History teacher Ananda Campbell organized the presentation for the students.
"We realized that we were getting Veterans Day off and the kids didn't even know what it was," she said. "There's a sense of apathy about patriotic symbols and the meaning behind the flag."
As part of the ceremony, students demonstrated how to properly fold the flag and explained the symbolism of the manner in which it is folded and of the flag itself.
The first fold is a symbol of life and the second a symbol of eternal life. The seventh fold is a tribute to the armed forces.
The flags were folded and offered to the National Guard to be retired.
The students also wrote thank-you letters and presented them to veterans Frank Hoke and Ray Frederick.
"There's another word that goes along with freedom and that's patriotism," Hoke told students. "You have certainly shown that here today."
Hoke said he would bring the letters to veterans in the Veterans Administration Hospital in Reno.
"There's a lot of them that will never come out of there alive," Hoke said. "It's things like this that make their day."
Eighth-grader Erica Gonzalez read her tribute to the veterans.
"We are thankful for the veterans that are still with us and the ones that gave their lives for us," she said. "I want to thank them for risking their lives and being all they can be - now that's an act of bravery."
John D. Arthur, a veteran of three wars, received a standing ovation as he accepted a plaque presented by the students.
"You're my future and I thank God for that every day," he told the students.
Arthur fought in World War II and the Korean War. He was in the military during the Vietnam War but did not enter combat. He now volunteers at the middle school.
"I get a bang out of it," he said.
Tom Baker, the rural director for Sen. Richard Bryan, D-Nev., served in the Vietnam War and was at the presentation.
"From the perspective of a veteran, it was very gratifying to see this," Baker said. "What made it more poignant to me was when I looked up and saw a girl with tears in her eyes."
Kathryn Rogers, an eighth-grader, read a poem she wrote about the meaning of freedom.
"Freedom is the color of the blue Nevada sky on a warm summer day," she said. "Freedom looks like a magical land where unicorns run wild and safe from the grasp of the human hand."
Campbell was pleased with the presentation.
"It turned out really well," she said. "I was overwhelmed."
