Manlius VFW, Cicero elementary school observe Flag Day

TOWN OF MANLIUS – With the help of members from Manlius VFW Post 7872, Lakeshore Road Elementary School in Cicero held its yearly Flag Day observance the morning of Friday, June 14.

During the event in the school’s gymnasium, the staff and student body—most dressed in red, white or blue—welcomed as the day’s special military color guard veterans from the Manlius VFW Dan Delaney, Bill Kelsex and Norm Piraino with Paul Hrynio from the Onondaga County Veterans Council as their honored guest.

After the three United States Army veterans and one Navy veteran entered holding the country’s flag and their rifles to the sound of “Amazing Grace” being played on bagpipes by Mark Heath, Cicero-North Syracuse High School senior and former Lakeshore Road student Ava Tyler was introduced to sing “The Star-Spangled Banner.”

Teacher Kim Fuegel’s second grade class then stood up and led the Pledge of Allegiance using sign language, and other second graders came up individually to say reasons why the flag is important to them. Some said they appreciate how the 50 stars on the flag represent all 50 states while its 13 alternating red and white stripes symbolize the original Thirteen Colonies. Others said the flag signifies freedom and all the people who have fought to defend it through the years.

Soon after, music teacher James Bamonte’s fourth grade band performed “Regal March,” and there was a short school-made video shown on the pull-down projector screen telling the complete story behind the U.S.’ national anthem.

“The Star-Spangled Banner” dates back over 200 years to the War of 1812, the students said. That conflict raged on for more than two years, ending in 1815, and during that span was the Battle of Baltimore, when a large American flag was flown over Fort McHenry amid British bombardment.

At the time, lawyer Francis Scott Key was negotiating the release of American soldiers being held as prisoners of war on British ships. When the fort was under attack Key could only see red eruptions in the night sky, one student made sure to mention, and soldiers there yelled out to Key, “Is the flag still standing?”

As the smoke started to clear, Key could still see the flag waving in the distance during the dawn’s early light, inspiring him to write a poem called “Defence of Fort M’Henry” based on what he witnessed and how he felt during that battle.

Eventually the poem was set to music in 1889, and President Herbert Hoover had it adopted as the national anthem of the United States in 1931. The very same flag that Key saw that fateful day in 1814 is now preserved and exhibited at the National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C.

Another Lakeshore Road student went on to call the flag a symbol of American identity and “a testimony to the strength and perseverance of our nation that will inspire generations to come.”

The ceremony ended with a whole-school singing of “You’re a Grand Old Flag” led by music teacher Maureen Alvaro.

Carol Lonergan, the head coordinator of the Flag Day event and a teaching assistant at Lakeshore, said the school has been holding the event in some form for decades, going back to when the school opened about 50 years ago or more.

Lonergan said she has tried to keep the event going because it’s a chance for the elementary schoolers to learn about their country’s history and the holiday of Flag Day while also being able to interact with local armed forces veterans.

Tina Chmielewski, the principal of the elementary school, said she’s worked at the school building about 20 years now and that the Flag Day celebration has “always been a big to-do.” She said the event is the school’s culmination of showing appreciation to veterans in the time between Memorial Day and the end of the school year.

She said it’s also a way of bringing the schoolwide community and greater community together and giving the students a better grasp of the historical background behind what they see around them in everyday life.

“We’re all here in this country together, and we say the pledge every day, but do we really know the purpose?” Chmielewski said. “We hear the national anthem, but knowing the purpose and story behind it is important.”

Chmielewski said that the event has a different feel to it with every passing year. Last year, the school focused on highlighting students’ family members who have served in the military, and the kids could come up and share their personal experiences on that level.

Angel Fikes, a member of the school’s parent teacher organization who was in charge of bringing in the color guard, said the event grows every year, with the students learning more and more and asking more and more insightful questions.

To coincide with Lakeshore’s impending closure to make way for renovations, during which students will temporarily be relocated to St. Margaret’s Church of Mattydale, a school flag is in the works that will have the students’ thumbprints on it. The U.S.’ individual state flags are also lined up in the school’s hallway currently, Chmielewski pointed out.

Hrynio said during the reception in the cafeteria that followed the Flag Day event that this was his second year being involved, having previously been the commander of the invited Manlius VFW post.

“I think all schools should be doing something like this,” he said. “It instills in kids’ minds what Flag Day is all about.”

He added that the event is “short and sweet” but that it displays an appreciation and respect for the country and its veterans that the youngest generation can hold onto for years to come.