Nov 16, 2013 2 min read

A couple of weeks ago, I was invited to a Veterans Appreciation Day at the elementary school in Claysville as a guest of my grandson, who attends kindergarten. Uniforms or military mementos were an option, so I dug out my Navy blues that I hadn’t worn for 40 years, but for some unknown reason kept in a bag in the top of the closet.

The top fit, snugly I might add, and the bell-bottoms fit, with a little help of rubber bands at the waist, which were quite helpful in the bathroom in lieu of those thirteen buttons. It was a very well thought-out presentation, with the children singing the different songs of each branch of the military, and a history lesson in the meaning of each fold when folding the flag. After the presentation, we got to visit our grandson’s classroom, where the children showed me their coloring books depicting veterans. Each little child beamed as they proudly showed me their artwork. Their innocent eyes glistened as they described the crayon-colored depictions of military people and the flag.

I was also privileged to answer some questions from the children about my time in the Navy on an aircraft carrier in Vietnam, but was somewhat at a loss for words when one little girl asked why we dropped bombs. How do you answer a question like that from a 5 year old child? I was beholden to the teacher when she intervened with the appropriate answer.

Now I know the reason I kept those old Navy blues all those years in the top of the closet.

Tom Galownia

Cecil