In honor of Veterans Day, students at Dutchess BOCES’ Salt Point Center (SPC) spent Nov. 10 making colorful cards thanking the veterans for their service, while students in Christine Ciccone’s class got to ask a real life soldier about his experiences in the field.
Jaimie Browne, a retired Chief Warrant Officer for the Army whose specialty was in aviation, was quizzed by students about his time in service, including if he ever got hurt on the job.
“I’ve been in combat five times and I walked away without a scratch,” Browne said. “I don’t know how.”
Browne, who is Ciccone’s husband, also showed students a video of how soldiers in Browne’s position parachuted from planes and landed safely. The planes Browne traveled in flew 800 feet above the ground for a very crucial reason.
“You’ve got to get as many people as you can on the ground as fast as you can,” Browne explained. “I used to fly down below the tree line; in the desert, I flew down in riverbeds.”
Ciccone arranged for the visit and to collect the handmade cards students produced. For Browne, it is important share about his experience as a way of teaching history because there are so many veterans around who have witnessed many historical events.
“I don’t think we appreciate a lot of the people that have gone before us and done all these things that our country has asked us to do, whether we wanted to or not,” Browne said. “We should never lose faith in that.”
Third grader Mikayla Smith had fun designing the cards and giving them to Browne. She shared why it is so important to honor veterans.
“We’re happy that everybody saved us,” Smith said.
