P.S. 108 students honor Bronx veterans
BY CARLOTTA MOHAMED
Bronx veterans were honored
and remembered with a
special performance from students
at P.S. 108’s annual Veterans
Day Celebration held on
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Friday, November 8.
About 120 fourth- and fi fthgraders
fi lled the cafeteria
singing patriotic songs paying
tribute to members of the
Navy, U.S. Marine Corps, U.S.
Coast Guard and Army, followed
by a documentary remembering
the late Bronx
veteran, Joseph Garafolo and
a special luncheon, organized
by the school’s Veterans Day
Committee.
The annual celebration
has been held at the school, located
at 1166 Neil Avenue, for
the past 11 years, educating
students about the importance
of Veterans Day, according to
Mike Tierney, custodian engineer
and coordinator of the
project.
“It’s extremely valuable to
teach the younger generation
why we have the freedoms we
have and to be thankful and to
make sure we show it and say
‘thank you,’” Tierney said.
Garafolo an active and de-
voted American Legion member
and Morris Park resident
since the early 1950s, who
passed away in March 2016,
was recognized for his mission
to establish the Bronx Veterans
Museum chronicled in the
Erik Spink-directed documentary,
‘The Scavenger’ which is
shown every year at P.S. 108’s
Veterans Day Celebration.
Garafolo’s donated artifacts—
weapons, hats, jackets,
badges, comics, pictures, book
and documents—from World
War II is housed in the lobby
of Dormi and Sons Funeral
Home, located at 1121 Morris
Park Avenue.
“It’s a great place for the
kids to come and see history
and touch it with their hands,”
Tierney said. “You get a true
sense of history and the fi fthgraders
go on fi eld trips every
year for the event, which culminates
here today with the
celebration.”
It’s a heartwarming tribute
for the veterans, who say
they’re humbly honored and
appreciative of the school
community hosting the celebration.
“In my day, when we got
out we didn’t have this kind of
stuff. They didn’t treat us like
this,” said Michael Maskara,
77, a Bronx veteran, who
served in the Vietnam War
from 1964 to 1966. “It’s something
special for us. These
kids today know what this is
all about and what we’re in
for.”
Efrain Gonzalez III, who
served in the U.S. Army from
1989 to 1992 in Operation Desert
Shield and Desert Storm,
described the program as
beautiful and educational.
“It’s something that a lot
of young children don’t know
about — what it is to be a veteran
and what it entails,” Gonzalez
said. “It wasn’t easy for
everyone who fought in war,
some people handled it better
than others and we’re only
human and that’s something
that a lot of people here may
not know.”
For Kiersten Carter, who
served in the U.S. Army from
2011 to 2015, it was a special
occasion to spend with her
5-year-old son, who is a kindergarten
student at P.S. 108.
“There’s a lot of respect
for the military here,” Carter
said.
Handwritten letters from
students were displayed on
each luncheon table, expressing
their gratitude to all veterans.
“Thank you for honoring
our country, and thank
you for all that you’ve done.
You are very considerate and
brave,” said fi fth-grade student,
Amaya Sanchez, in her
letter.
P.S. 108 fi fth-graders honor Bronx veterans with a patriotic performance singing ‘I Remember You’ and ‘For the
Good of Many’ in the school cafetaria. Photo by Carlotta Mohamed
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