ST. CLAIRSVILLE — St. Clairsville-Richland City School District honored veterans Monday morning by providing a free breakfast followed by an extensive assembly.

St. Clairsville High School Principal Justin Sleutz said the event was originally just the assembly but quickly grew into a free breakfast followed by an extensive assembly with several guest speakers and music provided by the St. Clairsville High School band and choir as well as a performance by Eric Trio’s Elementary Music Team.

“The assembly is just a way for us to honor all of the veterans and active duty service members in our community,” Sleutz said. “We treat them to a breakfast and thank them for their service and then we have a number of music performances during the assembly as well as a number of different speakers who are speaking on the topic of what it means to serve your country, community, and to serve each other.”

One of the guest speakers was U.S. Air Force veteran Mike Slenski, who in addition to being a speaker was also the emcee for the program. He spoke about his reluctance to become a soldier.

“I’m a Vietnam veteran and wasn’t particularly interested in going to Vietnam carrying a gun, and they made me a security policeman and I was there shortly after,” Slenski said. “It’s a great program, to see so many young people involved. I go over the protocol about how you conduct yourself during the national anthem, and I can honestly say the students here at St. Clairsville schools seem to know exactly how to do it.”

He added that he believes the band of brothers a veteran gains through serving in the military is unlike any other.

“We all were together, away from our families, friends and loved ones, and we were here to protect the freedoms of the people here in the U.S. so they might have a free life like any other,” Slenski said.

He recalled that his base in Vietnam had a library that had books by Communist authors and added that he believes only in America could you find books by the people you’re fighting against.

“I found that the Vietnamese people that I got to know were human beings and people just like us,” he added. “The same personalities exist everywhere.”

He noted that he believes he grew up a lot during his time in Vietnam and learned what true fear was. He said he enjoys being the emcee at the event and has been doing hosting duties for the assembly for the past five years.

“I’m so thankful for the veterans. It’s because of these veterans that we have the kind of life that we have here in this country,” Slenski said.

In addition to the free breakfast, while walking into the assembly veterans were met with goodie bags that were provided by St. Clairsville Middle School Student Council.

Several years ago student council adviser Becca Schwertfeger came up with the idea for the goodie bags and a Wall of Honor in 2018. The Wall of Honor displays pictures of past or present veterans on a wall to be honored for their services. Schwertfeger said she believes each year the wall and number of gift bags given out to veterans grows with this year being the largest effort yet.

U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Stone Brooks briefly addressed the assembly.

“My suggestion to you is to talk to a veteran and get the golden nuggets that they have,” he told the students in attendance. “They will tell you some amazing stories, whether that’s a concert that they went to in the middle of the desert or whether a comedian, cheerleaders or a football team that came out and visited military members in the middle of nowhere. It’s a wonderful path that this military career can give you, and then you can come back and bring all of that knowledge back into this community.”

Slenski ended the assembly by informing the students that this coming April will mark the 50th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War.

“Unlike the veterans who have spoken at these ceremonies in the past years and even today, I wasn’t all that excited about joining the military during the period that the United States was involved in the Vietnam War,” Slenski said. “To be brutally honest with you I was against the U.S. participation in the war in Vietnam. I was a full-time radio announcer in Cambridge. I attended Ohio University of Zanesville, but I did poorly and dropped out of school. The draft lottery was looming, and I had to do something before I was drafted. Out of respect to my dad and his four brothers who served in World War II, I decided to join the military.”

He said that when he joined the Air Force his goal was to become a radio announcer for Armed Forces Radio, but he was chosen to become a security policeman instead. He added that during his time in the military, he was able to learn the importance of living in a country where you have the freedom to believe, read and speak whatever you want.

“I am not a hero but many veterans are,” he concluded. “So please give them the respect they deserve for the sacrifice they made and the courage they exhibited.”