Military-bound area graduates deserve salute

When high school athletes perform at games or meets, they hear the cheers of spectators. Some high school teams’ achievements are celebrated at pep rallies in front of the entire student body. And when individual athletes are successful at their sport, th

For high school students achieving outstanding academic performance, acclaim can come in the form of honors assemblies or banquets, inductions into the National Honor Society or earning college scholarships that are sometimes announced during commencement ceremonies.

But a practice that had been absent for a long time at many high schools was recognition for students who made the commitment to protect and defend their country by joining a branch of the United States armed forces.

That’s why we’re happy to see a trend emerge in recent years, with more local high schools holding programs to honor future graduates who enlisted in the military.

With the 2016-17 school year drawing to a close, we thought it would be an appropriate time to commend the schools which sponsor these ceremonies, and to give another round of applause to the military-bound students.

Mentor High School recognized 18 graduating seniors during the fifth annual Koman Spreng Zonneville Military Commitment Ceremony on April 25.

The ceremony name honors the three men who came up with the idea and created the program: Korean War veteran Bud Spreng; World War II veteran Bob Zonneville; and American Legion Past Commander Doug Koman.

One of the enjoyable aspects of Mentor’s ceremony is the patriotic atmosphere that has been infused into the program.

The 18 Mentor students recognized, and the military branches they’re entering, are: U.S. Army

• Kaelyn Cawrse • Teagan Davis • Devin DeGeorge • Richard Marthe • Jesse Plymel Army National Guard

• Kyle Basham • Veronica Elliot U.S. Marine Corps

• Maximillan Bufkin • Daniel Gerson • Nathan Kerr • Corey McHugh • James Morris • Jacob Respondek U.S. Navy • Nicholas Hardman • Maxwell Hill • Angelo Martin • Justin Sokalski • Alex Sweeney Meanwhile, Eastlake North High School honored its seniors who have enlisted in the military with its inaugural Military Commitment Ceremony April 26.

The new recruits who were honored were:

• Air National Guard: Carmen DelZoppo, Alyssa Reik • Air Force: Bryan Eggers • Air Force Reserves: Sydnie Schwenk

• Army: Aaron Brown, Tucker Larsen, Brandon Mooney

• Army National Guard: Jordyn Sellers

• Navy: Ashleigh Crawford, Kelsey Wilk • Marines: Jesse Purtell Some of the other area schools that held military commitment ceremonies were:

• Perry High School. The ceremony earlier this month featured the Perry High School Buccaneers Show Choir and included a student-produced video highlighting comments by military veterans currently on the high school staff.

Enlistees are: Colin Hagan and Aiden Walker, U.S. Army; Matthew Collins and Terry Kooyman, U.S. Marine Corps; and Colin Reichman, U.S. Military Academy at West Point.

• Riverside High School on May 23 held a program recognizing five of its seniors who have committed to join the military.

They are: Maxwell Brady, Josecarlos Mendez and Jesus Pecheco, who are entering the U.S. Marine Corps; and Michael DeBacker and Joseph Sledz, who joined the U.S. Navy.

To the high school seniors mentioned in this space, and to those from other schools, we also would like to salute and thank you for your decision to serve in our nation’s armed forces.

You’re about to embark on what’s a life-changing experience.

We hope that experience is challenging, rewarding and exciting for each and every one of you.