001we are members of brave bringing remembrance to all veterans everywhere my name is brianna mcdonald and my name is brooke stevenson welcome to braves veterans day assembly today is our great honor to be here with all of you throughout this nation's history america's soldiers sailors airmen women marines and members of the coast guard have bravely answered the call to defend our freedom and sacrifice so greatly to help ensure that a republic would endure today we honor the 650 000 american service members who died in battle today we honor the 1.4 million who were wounded today we honor the more than 25 million veterans that live in the us to all the veterans in attendance this morning we are so pleased that you would join us before we begin i would like to ask all guests
002to silence your electronic devices to begin please join us in the pledge of allegiance please stand for a moment of silence [Music] i pledge allegiance to the fed of the united states of america and to the republic for which it stands one nation under god indivisible with liberty and justice for all today is a day of remembrance and gratitude our club would just like to come together and say thank you for serving our country it takes a lot of bravery and sacrifice to do what you have done for our country we hope you enjoy the program now we will have wait now please welcome the chs vip choir who will perform our national anthem [Music] [Applause] [Music] lord [Applause] i [Applause] thank you so much i would now like to welcome dr gad to the
003podium good morning and good morning to our veterans thank you so much for being here we're so honored to have you with us today and especially to have you with us in person today we recognize your selfless service our veterans today tradition at cheshire high school is really a cherished part of our school culture as a school we value service to our community to our town and today we thank all of you our honored guests and recognize your contributions to our nation our state and to our town you are role models for our young people role models of bravery hard work and the extraordinary sacrifice and grit you demonstrated to protect our very freedoms thank you it is so important to preserve our traditions as we recognize veterans day or as it was originally called
004armistice day this day commemorated the signing of the armistice that went into effect on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month in 1918. you'll hear more about the history of veterans day in a moment but i would like to thank our brave club students for their thoughtful organization of today's program as you've already heard the club name stands for bringing remembrance to all veterans everywhere and they've certainly lived up to their name today i'd also like to thank our social studies department chair and club advisor mr galvin for his leadership and support made today's program possible and i would be remiss if i didn't thank our culinary art students for the treats they prepared for you today so as you exit their treats waiting for you on the tables outside so
005on behalf of brave cheshire high school students our faculty and our staff again we thank you our veterans for your example of service and courage and we are delighted and so very fortunate that we're able to welcome you to our school today thank you thank you dr dad for your speech i would now like to introduce paulina rodani and lauren weakest brave members who will share the history behind veterans day [Applause] okay hello everyone and thank you for joining us on this very special day as we all know veterans day is a time to honor all men and women who served in the military and put their lives on the line for our freedom however as a member of brave i believe that is also important we all know the history of november 11th and
006why we celebrate veterans day at this time of year veterans day was originally began on armistice day on november 11 1919 the first anniversary of the end of world war one armistice day was made a national holiday to honor all world war one vets for their service however after world war ii in the korean war it became apparent that we must honor all men and women who served in our military for their service to our country armistice day was officially changed to veterans day on june 1st 1954 and it became a day to honor american veterans all of all wars [Music] i would also briefly like to mention the difference between veterans day and memorial day memorial day honors service members who died in service to their country or as a result of their injuries
007incurred during battle veterans day is not only a day to honor deceased veterans but also to thank and honor living veterans who served in the military during wartime or peacetime please take some time today to thank a veteran for their service and share with them why you appreciate their personal sacrifice thank you it is now my pleasure to share with you a video message from the members of brave to me brave is about coming together and remembering all the veterans that have served our country and giving each and every veteran the respect and appreciation they deserve to me brave is an opportunity to give back to those who have given the most for this country brave is important to me because we honor those currently and previously enlisted within the military to me brave is
008my opportunity to give back to all the veterans that have fallen sacrificed so much for what we have today brave is important to me because we pay tribute and respect to all veterans out that have served our nation honorably all of them will never be forgotten to me brave means recognizing veterans for all amazing things they've done for our country and supporting them in any way we can being a part of brave means being a part of honoring the ones who protect us they risk their lives every day to serve our country and i believe it's important to honor these veterans not just today but every day brave gives me the opportunity to see the strong and honorary positions men and women went through to protect our country brave to me means supporting all of
009our veterans and recognizing what they have done for me and everyone else as well as honoring their brave and courageous acts for our country to me brave beans honoring and supporting albertons in a positive way brave means remembering the veterans and ironing their bravery brave club is all about honoring veterans service and their bravery being able to honor all the courageous veterans that serve their country brave to me is not just a small way to honor our veterans but is a very large way to do it growing up in a family full of veterans has always made me appreciate veterans who serve everywhere to me brave helps me honor those who have fought for our country to me brave is a reunion of veterans who have a chance to tell stories about their service that
010shows their strengths and sacrifice honoring our veterans and current service members to me brave is an opportunity for me to honor my grandpa for his service shining light on all of our veterans and giving them the respect to me brave is bringing together a community and honoring those who have fought for our country to me brave means giving back to the people who sacrificed themselves for our freedom being brave needs to have courage for others and to remember our veterans joining brave is the little we as students can do to show appreciation towards the veterans and their selfless actions [Applause] as you can see there are many reasons which motivate club members to participate in brave each year at its core the theme is gratitude we appreciate you the men and women who have served
011and continue to serve this nation's nation so adamantly thank you now please welcome the chs vip choir who will perform eternal father strong to save um [Music] the mighty ocean deep [Music] us is we cry to thee for those in here [Music] from [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] and see [Applause] [Music] [Applause] thank you we would now like to present the armed forces salute for those who do not know it is a medley of the of the official songs representing each of the five branches in the u.s military which include the army navy marine corps air force and coast guard veterans when your branch of service is displayed on the screen please stand if you are able and be recognized [Music] you [Music] oh [Music] you so [Music] so [Music] [Applause] [Music] uh [Music]
012at this time i would like to bring ishika and anja anjali navad navaditi to the podium to share the story of the white table [Applause] good morning my name is anjali nanavati and i am one of the members of brave you may have noticed a small table set up on the stage this morning this table is known as america's white table or the fallen man table and it has become a tradition for brave as we oh god as we continue to honor our nation's veterans this table serves as a reminder of the soldiers who never made it home whether they were prisoners of war or missing in action every object set at the table represents a different aspect of the soldiers difficulties hello my name is ishika nanavady and i'm one of the officers of
013brave first the table is round to symbolize the undying commitment and concern for finding our fallen and missing soldiers the tablecloth is white to symbolize the soldier's pure motives when responding to the call of duty a single red rose was placed in the vase as a reminder of the families and friends who continue to keep faith in finding these soldiers the vase is tied with a red ribbon to show continued memory of those who are no longer with us and the search for those who are still missing the yellow candle represents the endless hope for cheerful reunion with those yet accounted for and reflects our ongoing desire for their return we are reminded of the bitter fate of those captured and missing by the lemon slice on the plate the plate is sprinkled with salt
014to exemplify the tears shed by the missing and their families the napkin is black as a reminder of the confinement deprivation and the brutal fate of those soldiers the inverted glass stands to remind us of those who are not able to be here with us and lastly the chair is empty and tilted and will remain empty and tilted until all of our missing are accounted for on this veterans day please take time to appreciate those who returned home safely and were able to be here with us today but also all the brave men and women who responded to the call of duty and gave the ultimate sacrifice to their country thank you [Applause] we will now have two members of the chs band alex landau and charlie greenland perform taps in 2012 congress recognized tafts
015as the national song of remembrance it is sounded as the fine as the final call every evening on military installations and military funerals [Music] mario [Music] [Applause] thank you for that wonderful performance now i'd like to invite erica johnson charles to the stage to give her closing statements [Applause] [Music] look at this okay hi everybody my name is erica johnson charles and i am a member of brave um there are so many people who helped make today possible first we would like to thank mr salamini in the back on the light and sound board for whom this event would not be possible also thank you to the custodial staff for assisting with the event setup we would also like to thank the chs vips choir in the front and the band members who shared their
016talents on taps with this this morning we'd also like to thank mrs wilderman in her culinary classes for making this the patriotic cookies that you'll find in the bags once you leave we would also like to thank dr solin for taking the time out of his day to come join us today um we appreciate the support of our food services group and lastly a huge thank you to the falk family and because of the brave for their generous donations of the t-shirts that the brave club is wearing today i will close by saying that today it has been our privilege to honor you all the praise of freedom is great we cannot afford to forget those who are willing to pay for it today we celebrate america's veterans for keeping this nation the land of
017the free and the home of the brave [Applause] [Music] once you guys all leave there are some bags on your way out with gift bags and if you pick up a folder there will be thank you letters for all the veterans and the folders have a good movie [Applause] you