- Benson's Sons of the Americal Legion Post #112 visited Pawnee Elementary to educate students on flag etiquette and what the flag represents.
- “This opportunity not only educates the students but will bring about some reverence and respect for what they are doing."
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
Benson American Legion Post #112 paid a visit to an Omaha elementary school. The visit focused on flag etiquette and what the flag represents.
3 News Now Photojournalist Kevin Rempe allowed them to share the story in their own words — for Mission Service.
“We are providing flag etiquette and flag education to the fifth graders here at Pawnee Elementary, and we're going to go through some history of the flag,” said Chris Casey, Sons of the American Legion Post #112 Detachment Adjutant.
“We have had our security officer working with our students to raise and lower the flag each day, but I don't think that our students truly understood the significance and the meaning behind the raising and lowering of the flag, and how we fold and store the flag,” said Cheryl Prine, the Pawnee Elementary Principal.
“Each fold has a meaning behind it,” said Casey.
“Our whole American Legion organization — we support four pillars and one of them is children and youth. Another one of them is Americanism, and to me Americanism and our youth often overlap," said John B. Wenninghoff, a member of the Sons of the American Legion Post #112. "This is a perfect example of how we can spread our word in our education that we have learned over the years and share it with not just with the school and teachers, but the word is going to get out.”
“You know, I think that we start them young, they grow up having an appreciation for the flag," said Casey. "We've got a chance to get them to look at the flag the way I look at the flag. The reverence for it, the understanding behind it, you know, who's paid sometimes the ultimate sacrifice for that flag.”
“It is really fun learning about it because kind of like told me some stuff that I didn't really know about the flag," said Alex Nunn, a 5th-grade student at Pawnee Elementary.
“These younger ones, their eyes light up when they figure it out," said Casey. “The flag is not an easy thing to fold. That first fold, trying to get in your head how that triangle takes off."
“Folding the flag was kind of complicated," said another Pawnee Elementary Student.
“Hold on, hold on, back it up. Your triangle is a little bit big there. You started off great,” said a member of the Sons of the American Legion.
“I can see in their head when they're struggling and then when they get it, it's huge and they're so receptive to learning at this age," said Casey.
“Most of those kids in the gym today had it down, I only had to help a few, and they're gonna go home tonight and talk about what their parents and how impressed they might be," said Wenninghoff.
“This opportunity not only educates the students but will bring about some reverence and respect for what they are doing," said Prine. "It's not just a task we do at the beginning and end of each day."
If there’s a person or a topic you think we should cover for Mission: Service – tell us.
Email: mission.service@3newsnow.com
