On March 24th, the Halo for Freedom Foundation came to Weatherford High School. The event took place in the WHS auditorium where our United States Veterans told their phenomenal personal stories about overcoming the battles they faced, while also answering questions from students.These heroic men captivated the audience of high school students, who sat quietly listening and would stand and applaud to show respect for each soldier.

Many teachers and students shared their appreciation and surprise for the respect shown to the soldiers and veterans of war.

Even a teacher on facebook shared her gratitude for the students as well as Mrs. Dowd who said, “If I had enough money in the school budget, I would throw a school wide pizza party.”

There was an array of veterans at the presentation. Among them: a comedian, a country singer, two astronauts, and even a couple of service dogs. Although they may have seemed different, they all had one thing in common: service and patriotism.

“Seeing so many people with similar stories and experiences, it honestly gave me an added trust to the people that protect our country,” Olivia Gilbert said. “…it finally clicked in my head that the people out in the field are real people, not some sort of robot.”

The students were entertained and showed respect for the the veterans during the assembly. One of the veterans that shared his personal encounter with war in Vietnam, sergeant Don Jenkins, said that he was impressed to have such a respectful audience that was made out of teenage students.
“The warriors coming to the high school and telling their stories was an inspirational and knowledgeable experience,” sophomore Priscilla Comet said. “It was also very emotional hearing the things they went through and saw during their service.”