Military personnel and police officers were honored as “everyday heroes” at Scottsdale’s Anasazi Elementary School on Monday. Students sang, waved American flags and presented 10 heroes with medals to recognize Veterans Day.
Army Sgt. Michael Majcher, home on two-week leave from Iraq, said it was a privilege to be honored by the students.
“It’s nice to know they support us,” he said.
Majcher’s cousin, Anasazi fifth-grader Christopher Majcher, said he liked being able to present his cousin with a medal at the assembly.
“I felt proud that he’s fighting for our freedom,” Christopher said. “I’m really scared for him. People are actually shooting at him.”
There were also veterans from previous conflicts on hand, including Ben Kramer, a World War II veteran who recently celebrated his 92nd birthday.
Kramer’s son, Mark, told students to remember those who risk their lives as he hung a hero’s medal around his father’s neck.
“You must remember that every time a police officer puts his shield on, he is putting his life on the line for you, for me, for all of us,” said Mark Kramer, a former police officer and currently president of McDonalds Restaurants of Scottsdale.
This is the fifth year Anasazi has celebrated Veterans Day with an assembly, said principal Jeff Quisberg. About 650 students attended. The school invites real people to illustrate heroism to bring the concept to the students’ level and to start to teach them the importance of citizenship, Quisberg said.
