SHAWNEE TOWNSHIP, ALLEN COUNTY, Ohio (WLIO) — It was a morning of honor and patriotism at Shawnee High School as the district recognized its veterans.
For the first-ever Shawnee High School Veterans Day assembly, 115 veterans attended from all branches of the U.S. military, with every name and rank acknowledged. Shawnee history students invited their veteran friends and family members, and the school reached out to graduates and residents who have served the country. The ceremony also honored and remembered the 13 Shawnee High School alumni who lost their lives protecting freedom, concluding with the playing of "Taps." Organizers said the assembly left a lasting impact on everyone in the building.
"The first thing is the impact it has on our veterans. Just the fact that, you know, there's a community that's willing to take time out of their day to recognize their sacrifices, courage to our nation, but second of all, I think it's really good for our students to recognize the fact that the liberties and the rights and the freedoms that we had our gifts to them that they need to cherish and hopefully by seeing all these people sitting on the floor, they have an idea how those gifts were obtained and secured," says Assembly Organizer & History Teacher, Shawnee Local Schools.
Spencer said the hope is to make the assembly an annual event.
