SHS holds touching Veterans Day program
The Starkville High School JROTC held its annual Veterans Day program in the SHS gym on Thursday, highlighting and honoring all soldiers who fought for America’s most precious right – freedom.
The program featured performances from the SHS choir and band with the choir singing the national anthem and “Song of the Unsung Hero,” and the band performing “Taps” and the songs for each branch of the U.S. military.
As SHS honored and recognized those who served our country, it also honored those who were not able to make it back home. With a single red rose rising from a vase with a red ribbon tied around it, the missing man table is a memorial display in honor of fallen, missing, or imprisoned military service members.
“This display honors those who are unable to be with their loved ones and their families, so we join together to pay a moment of tribute to their sacrifice,” Cadet Lieutenant Colonel Cobi Bradford said. “The table is set for one, symbolizing the absence of even one service member. The tablecloth is white to symbolize the pure intentions of the service members who responded to our country’s call to arms. The single red rose in the vase symbolizes the blood that was shed in sacrifice to ensure the freedom of the United States of America. A slice of lemon on the bread plate represents the bitter fate of the missing. Salt sprinkled on the bread plate symbolizes the tears shed by waiting families.”
SHS teacher and JROTC instructor Colonel Charlese Webb hosted the annual program, and she gave her speech before the end of the program,
highlighting the weight of the sacrifice, commitment, and selflessness that all veterans possess in order to maintain our country’s freedom.
“We salute our veterans – past, present, and future – for their dedication, their sacrifice, and their commitment to something bigger than themselves,” Webb said. “We wouldn’t be able to celebrate Veterans Day if it weren’t for the sacrifices of many others, and we don’t need to take that for granted.”
Webb added that as the school continues to celebrate Veterans Day, the JROTC will have a presentation during the SHS football game tonight along with the SHS band.