thedrifter
12-08-02, 07:13 AM
By Mark Oliva, Stars and Stripes
Pacific edition, Sunday, December 8, 2002
CAMP FOSTER, Okinawa — The red, white and blue got the red-carpet treatment Friday, courtesy of Okinawa’s Marine Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps brass.
Kubasaki High School students turned out for a special assembly on the school grounds to raise a U.S. flag that once flew over the Pentagon to honor the victims and heroes of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Cadets donned dress uniforms and put on a silent drill exhibition, paying tribute to the victims of Sept. 11 and the Dec. 7, 1941, attack on Pearl Harbor.
“The flag has special significance for us, the student body,” said Christine Glover, a cadet major in the school’s Marine JROTC. “I’m proud to be the daughter of a U.S. Marine.”
Under clear blue skies, the flag was hoisted at 8 a.m. as the national anthem was performed by members of the 3 Marine Expeditionary Force Band. The school’s gym was packed with students, some clad in camouflaged and dress-blue Marine JROTC uniforms, sitting alongside Marine officers representing the base command here.
“It was very important to me that we did this,” Glover added. “I thought it was an honor that we did this at the high school instead of the base raising the flag. It means a little more when people understand we’re proud of what we do as a nation.”
The flag began making its rounds through Department of Defense Dependents Schools on Okinawa.
It was first raised at Lester Middle School on Nov. 18, and each school in the Pacific region will have a chance to see the Stars and Stripes flown over their campus grounds. It ultimately will be framed and presented to DODDS-Pacific headquarters on Okinawa later next year.
“This flag was used to honor what happened on Sept. 11, and we’re using it to also honor the Pearl Harbor attacks,” said Samuel Waterman, a Marine JROTC cadet staff sergeant. “It’s a tremendous honor to be a part of that. I feel like the whole nation’s watching us when I see it up there at the top of the flagpole.”
Samuel hoisted the national colors for the JROTC, adding that the flag ceremony afforded the cadet corps a unique opportunity to set an example for their school and community.
“We always try to be a role model, not just for the other students but for what everyone can expect from teens,” Samuel said. “Doing this, I think, accomplished that.”
Yvonne Law, a cadet gunnery sergeant, said the events of Sept. 11 are still fresh in the students’ minds. Many of their parents have had roles in the war on terror.
Law said seeing the flag waving in the breeze brings a quiet reverence to the campus.
“It kind of makes me sad to see it up there, knowing that it’s flying for people who died,” she said. “We’ve all watched the news and seen the documentaries of what happened, and it was horrible. But this brings a little peace to their memory. It was important for me to be a part of that.”
http://www.estripes.com/photos/11961_127154911b.jpg
Mark Oliva / Stars and Stripes
Kubasaki High School's Marine JROTC exhibition drill team performs a 600-count silent performance at the school gymnasium to honor the raising of a flag at the school that was flown over the Pentagon to honor the victims and heroes of Sept. 11.
http://www.estripes.com/photos/11961_127155030b.jpg
Mark Oliva / Stars and Stripes
Samuel Waterman, a cadet staff sergeant at Kubasaki High School's Marine JROTC, raises a commemorative Sept. 11 flag at the school's flagpole on Okinawa. The Marine JROTC turned out to provide full honors for both Sept. 11 and the attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on Dec. 7, 1941.
http://www.estripes.com/photos/11961_127155544b.jpg
Kubasaki High School's Marine JROTC exhibition drill team performs a 600-count silent performance at the school gymnasium to honor the raising of a flag at the school that was flown over the Pentagon to honor the victims and heroes of Sept. 11.
Sempers,
Roger
Pacific edition, Sunday, December 8, 2002
CAMP FOSTER, Okinawa — The red, white and blue got the red-carpet treatment Friday, courtesy of Okinawa’s Marine Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps brass.
Kubasaki High School students turned out for a special assembly on the school grounds to raise a U.S. flag that once flew over the Pentagon to honor the victims and heroes of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Cadets donned dress uniforms and put on a silent drill exhibition, paying tribute to the victims of Sept. 11 and the Dec. 7, 1941, attack on Pearl Harbor.
“The flag has special significance for us, the student body,” said Christine Glover, a cadet major in the school’s Marine JROTC. “I’m proud to be the daughter of a U.S. Marine.”
Under clear blue skies, the flag was hoisted at 8 a.m. as the national anthem was performed by members of the 3 Marine Expeditionary Force Band. The school’s gym was packed with students, some clad in camouflaged and dress-blue Marine JROTC uniforms, sitting alongside Marine officers representing the base command here.
“It was very important to me that we did this,” Glover added. “I thought it was an honor that we did this at the high school instead of the base raising the flag. It means a little more when people understand we’re proud of what we do as a nation.”
The flag began making its rounds through Department of Defense Dependents Schools on Okinawa.
It was first raised at Lester Middle School on Nov. 18, and each school in the Pacific region will have a chance to see the Stars and Stripes flown over their campus grounds. It ultimately will be framed and presented to DODDS-Pacific headquarters on Okinawa later next year.
“This flag was used to honor what happened on Sept. 11, and we’re using it to also honor the Pearl Harbor attacks,” said Samuel Waterman, a Marine JROTC cadet staff sergeant. “It’s a tremendous honor to be a part of that. I feel like the whole nation’s watching us when I see it up there at the top of the flagpole.”
Samuel hoisted the national colors for the JROTC, adding that the flag ceremony afforded the cadet corps a unique opportunity to set an example for their school and community.
“We always try to be a role model, not just for the other students but for what everyone can expect from teens,” Samuel said. “Doing this, I think, accomplished that.”
Yvonne Law, a cadet gunnery sergeant, said the events of Sept. 11 are still fresh in the students’ minds. Many of their parents have had roles in the war on terror.
Law said seeing the flag waving in the breeze brings a quiet reverence to the campus.
“It kind of makes me sad to see it up there, knowing that it’s flying for people who died,” she said. “We’ve all watched the news and seen the documentaries of what happened, and it was horrible. But this brings a little peace to their memory. It was important for me to be a part of that.”
http://www.estripes.com/photos/11961_127154911b.jpg
Mark Oliva / Stars and Stripes
Kubasaki High School's Marine JROTC exhibition drill team performs a 600-count silent performance at the school gymnasium to honor the raising of a flag at the school that was flown over the Pentagon to honor the victims and heroes of Sept. 11.
http://www.estripes.com/photos/11961_127155030b.jpg
Mark Oliva / Stars and Stripes
Samuel Waterman, a cadet staff sergeant at Kubasaki High School's Marine JROTC, raises a commemorative Sept. 11 flag at the school's flagpole on Okinawa. The Marine JROTC turned out to provide full honors for both Sept. 11 and the attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on Dec. 7, 1941.
http://www.estripes.com/photos/11961_127155544b.jpg
Kubasaki High School's Marine JROTC exhibition drill team performs a 600-count silent performance at the school gymnasium to honor the raising of a flag at the school that was flown over the Pentagon to honor the victims and heroes of Sept. 11.
Sempers,
Roger