Lake Region—The assembly program at Peterson-Warren Academy (PWA) had a special air when the student body celebrated Veteran's Day, Nov. 11, 2009. The program's presenter was Roscoe Gray, Bible teacher, who was gravely wounded in battle during his assignment in the Vietnam War. Gray spoke honestly from his own experience as he explained to students in grades 6–12 why veterans should be respected and why we celebrate Veteran's Day.
Students asked many questions about the armed services, and the role Gray played in the Vietnam War. As he explained how the soldiers were trained, fought and even died in the war, Gray also took time to explain how the fallen soldiers were gathered and brought home to their loved ones, rather than being left or buried on foreign soil. To illustrate the government's role with its fallen soldiers, the students were shown the movie, "Taking Chance." The students were visibly touched as they viewed the true story of a young man who was killed in battle and how much care and honor given his remains as he was escorted by military personnel to the home of his parents for burial. After the movie, and as Gray answered students' questions about U.S. veterans, it was quite clear the memories of his experiences during the Vietnam War, in which he served in 1967 and 1968, were still very vivid in his mind. His face showed pain, and tears welled up in his eyes as he shared with the students how he and two fellow soldiers were seriously wounded and 11 others in his squad were killed as they patrolled their field area.
Gray recounted how he received gunshot wounds to his abdomen and how his injuries were so severe that he was airlifted to a field hospital for immediate life-saving medical treatment and then transported on to Japan for more operations. Weeks later, after being stabilized, Gray was airlifted to Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington D.C., arriving on May 5, 1968, and he remained there for nearly three months. After more aggressive surgeries, Gray was sent for rehabilitation at the Womack Army Medical Center in Fort Bragg, N.C.
For his bravery, Gray with the other survivors received the Purple Heart, the Commendation Medal and the Bronze Star for gallantry in action. Only 48 out of 172 enlisted servicemen who went to Vietnam with Gray came back. He encourages those who have a chance to visit Washington D.C., to take time to visit the Vietnam Veterans Memorial where The Wall–USA was erected as a tribute to the 58,256 servicemen who were killed or missing in the Vietnam War. The PWA students were overwhelmed with sympathy as Gray responded to their questions and spoke of plans to make the Veteran's Hospital in Detroit a mission project of the school by arranging for students to visit the veterans there.
Without Gray's knowledge, the students made plans for him as well. The next morning three high school students, dressed in their Pathfinder uniforms, escorted Gray from one end of PWA's hall to the other as students from preschool through grade 12 stood in line and waited in silence and deep respect for their turn to salute their own military hero and Bible teacher. The students also sang the national anthem as they stood at attention. As Gray thanked the students for their kindness, he encouraged them to remember God in all that they do and added, "God bless America."
Earlier in the semester a practical lesson was learned about thanking our troops for their contributions to our country. After watching a newscast about children selling their Halloween candy to an organization which sends candy to the soldiers in Iraq, PWA students decided to participate in their own "sweet deed." The students either bought candy or gave a donation to purchase candy to send to a former student, Delsina West who is stationed in Iraq, to disburse among the soldiers. We were pleased to hear that the soldiers were elated to receive their treat from PWA.
Juanita Martin, Ed.D., principal, Peterson-Warren Academy
