Austin High JROTC cadets remember veteran sacrifices

Nov. 8—Austin High JROTC student Ryan Andrewjeski, speaking at a school assembly honoring veterans Tuesday, said he is going into the military in part because he is proud of his great-grandfather's service in World War II.

"My great-grandfather had a family of his own, but when the country was at war, he chose to defend this nation," Andrewjeski said.

Andrewjeski, a second lieutenant in the program, spoke to a crowded gymnasium at Austin High at the Collaborative Veterans Day Program. Among the students in the audience were several individuals in uniform who are currently serving in the armed forces.

Seated to one side were 10 war veterans.

Andrewjeski talked about his great-grandfather's time on the beaches of Normandy during Operation Neptune, or D-Day, on June 6, 1944.

"My great-grandfather was the last to jump from his plane," Andrewjeski said. "He sustained several wounds including a back injury from the landing and a bullet wound to the arm. However, he continued fighting for several days with no help or medical personnel."

His great-grandfather's commitment to his country was Ryan Andrewjeski's "driving factor" in his own plan to join the U.S. military.

JROTC Cadet Maj. Noah Howard reminded the crowd of why they were assembled.

"We celebrate Veterans Day because these veterans literally put themselves in harm's way," Howard said. "They did it for the people in this room. We celebrate to acknowledge their sacrifice and express our gratitude."

In front of the 10 veterans sat a Missing Man Table covered with a white tablecloth, a single red rose, a lighted candle and an empty chair. This scene represented the soldier who was not there, being missing in action or a prisoner of war.

"The chair is empty. They are not here," said JROTC student Marissa Moore-Pritz, reciting a stanza from the Missing Man Ceremony.

"Remember," replied a solemn audience.

At the end of the assembly, Principal Demond Garth told the audience how special he believes individuals are who defend America.

"It gets me really emotional thinking about the service that you men and women have done for this country," Garth said. "Service is what this country is all about."

Leo Miller and his four brothers sat proudly at the assembly and spoke with the other war veterans as they all took pictures with each other. Hailing from Decatur, each brother fought in the Vietnam War at different times from 1966 to 1972.

"When one came in, the other went out," said Leo Miller, an Army veteran who served in Vietnam from 1971 to 1972. "We were never in Vietnam at the same time."

James, John and Thomas Miller enlisted in the Marine Corps while Leo and Willie Miller were drafted into the U.S. Army.

James and John Miller, the oldest twin brothers, were the first to enlist. The horrors of the Vietnam War still haunt James Miller to this day.

"We went on a search and destroy mission where you kill everything in sight," James Miller said. "... I didn't like it but that was the mission and that still bothers me today."

Leo Miller said it makes him happy to see American civilians recognize and honor veterans, something that was not the case 50 years ago.

"Now, when soldiers go to Iraq and come home, people wait for them at the airports," Leo Miller said. "We didn't get that."

Veterans Day is Saturday, Nov. 11, the date World War I ended in 1918.