AROMAS — Every year, the Aromas School Veterans Day Assembly includes a performance of the “Armed Forces Medley,” where students hold signs that display a branch of the military.
When those signs are raised, members of that branch are invited to stand to the applause of the crowd.
As the number of veterans and community members who attend the event grows, so has the number of students who perform the song. Twenty years ago, it was one class on stage.
On Wednesday, it was six classes packed on the Aromas School gym stage, a move teacher Melanie Mahler said was necessary so the students’ voices were not drowned out by the increasing volume of applause over the years.
More than 50 veterans were joined by the student body of Aromas School and community members for the annual assembly.
In addition to “Armed Forces Medley,” students of all grade levels performed songs such as “Yankee Doodle Dandy” and “This Land is Your Land.”
Before the performances, each veteran in the audience was asked to step forward and state their name and branch of military service. It was there they received a booklet of poems written by Aromas School students, called “Poems and Letters from the Heart,” the result of months of work, Principal Heather Howell said.
“This is a day to honor those who have worn the uniform,” she said. “To all the veterans, we thank you for your service and sacrifice.”
Santa Cruz County Supervisor Greg Caput, a National Guard and Army Reserve veteran, was among the guest speakers at the assembly.
Always present at the annual event, Caput said what the school does “means a lot to a lot of veterans.”
“It’s a way of saying we respect you, and it’s also a way of saying we love you,” he said.
The assembly also included a posting and retiring of the colors by the Veterans of Foreign Wars Honor Guard Freedom Post 1716 and Boy Scouts. Sponsored by the Aromas Home and School Club, the event concluded with a reception in the school’s library and computer lab.
