WELLMAN
Veteran Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps members, whose service spanned the globe and included combat in Korea, Vietnam, Afghanistan, and Iraq, filled the front rows at the …
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WELLMAN
Veteran Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps members, whose service spanned the globe and included combat in Korea, Vietnam, Afghanistan, and Iraq, filled the front rows at the Mid-Prairie High School gym Monday morning, where they were honored at the Veterans Day assembly and luncheon hosted by the school’s FFCLA chapter.
After the presentation of the flags and recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance, as well as recognition of the veterans present, keynote speaker and Mid-Prairie alumnus Tyler Grout took to the podium, where he shared his experience as a combat engineer in the Army and National Guard.
“I was 16 years old when 911 happened, and like many people, it really ticked me off,” he said. “I knew right then I had to make an impact in some way.”
A year of deployment in Afghanistan left its mark. Helmand Province, where he was stationed, “was later labeled the most dangerous place on earth,” he said. “When I came home, I wasn’t the same.”
After struggling on his own for a few years, he eventually got help from the VA to process his experience and become “functional again.”
Despite the toll his military service took, Grout said he would do it again.
“Being a veteran has done so much for my personal life,” he said. “The training, the discipline, the personal courage you gain from those experiences sets you up for success.”
“I joined the military because I wanted to make an impact in Afghanistan, but what I realize now is that the values I gained in my experience are what’s important,” he said in closing. “It doesn’t matter what type of kid you are, what situation you’re from, you all have the power within you to be great and to make this world better. Find out what you’re passionate about as an individual and do it better than anyone else. Commit yourself to doing it. I always tell my kids, anything worth doing is worth overdoing.”
The high school choir then sang the official songs of the military branches, a poem of appreciation was read, and three students who have commited to the military following graduation shared their plans. The band then played the Battle Hymn of the Republic before closing the assembly, after which students enjoyed lunch with the attending veterans.
