Vets Bring Memories of War to School

COURT HOUSE – The hell of war came a bit closer to over 200 Middle Township High School freshmen as part of a Veterans’ Day assembly held in the Performing Arts Center on Mon., Nov. 7.
“I want them to give thanks to these gentlemen for what they did for our country,” said teacher Amy Giulian, coordinator of the day’s event. “And to give to youth what these men gave; these are real stories.”
Six veterans from the American Legion Post 331 in Stone Harbor, told the students of their harrowing experiences in five of America’s conflict.
“Our country has a history of war,” said John Fallon of Avalon. “Everyonehere, you, your children and your grandchildren, will know war.”
Fallon spent four years as an Army company commander and combat engineer. His tours of duty included Africa, Sicily, Germany, France and Austria.
“Thirteen million Americans were in the Armed Services at that time,” said Fallon, who will celebrate his 90th birthday in March, 2012. “And every one of those 13 million lived through the Great Depression. They were tough; I just hope we can be the same.”
“Korea is the war that still hasn’t been settled,” said Harry Clayton of Avalon. “Here we are, 2011, and there’s still no settlement there. It’s important because it could end up as another war. And we don’t want to see you fight in another war.”
“In my generation, you either got a job, enlisted, or got drafted,” said Vietnam veteran Kevin Coyle.
Coyle, of Avalon, who is now the Legion Post commander, was drafted.
“I spent 53 days at the top of a hill,” he recounted. “And one day they came
to move us further north.”
He told how when the word came the unit would be moving north, another solider set himself on fire.
“He told me he was afraid because he knew we were going to get killed up north.”
Coyle recalled going two weeks without a shower when his unit came upon a river.
“Three men ran into the river,” he said. “And they came out full of leeches.”
He told the students that the C-rations he ate in 1968 were marked “1945.”
“We would let dogs smell it first,” he said. “If the dogs didn’t eat it, we
didn’t eat it.”
He recalled the purified water the GI’s were given to drink.
“It was the worst tasting water, so they would add Kool-Aid to it. To this day I
haven’t had Kool-Aid.”
Coyle told the assembly that he arrived in Vietnam Jan. 24, 1968. Tet started Jan. 25, 1968.
“All night long the Viet Cong were yelling to us that we were going to die.”
“Our biggest fear was that Saddam Hussein would move his troops into Saudi
Arabia and would own one-third of the world’s oil supply,” said Persian Gulf
War veteran Ted Ramsey.
An Air Force pilot, Ramsey flew missions over the Middle East during the war.
“Scud missiles were a problem,” he said. “We carried atropine with us because of nerve gas and we flew missions in biological warfare suits.”
“I am an old guy,” said Al Carusi, an Army veteran of the Cold War. “You
guys are 14 and 15 years old. When you see a veteran, you see an old guy,
but we were 18 when we served. In four years, that can be you.”
Farzzui told the students of the esprit d’ corps.
“When you put on that uniform, you are one. It doesn’t matter if you’re black or white or yellow
or male or female. You are one.
“I enjoyed listening to them,” said ninth-grader Morgon Goranson. “I had a grandfather who was in the Air Force. It was interesting to hear them and their points of view. You can hear it from teachers, but to hear it from someone who has experienced it is different.”