Honoring our military veterans in S.C.
November 3, 2023
Pictured is Pelham Road Assistant Principal Marsha Braga with a section of the Pelham Road Elementary School HONOR WALL
How a Greenville-area elementary school is celebrating Veterans Month
By W. Thomas Smith Jr.
MY COUSIN MARSHA JONES BRAGA never fails to warm my soul. Decades ago when I was returning from Airborne (jump) school at Fort Benning, Georgia; Marsha and several members of my family were all gathered at the Columbia Metropolitan Airport welcoming me home, and I’d only been gone for a little over three weeks.
Then only a little girl, Marsha was the first person to greet me, running up to me, wrapping her little arms around me, touching my shiny new parachute wings, and holding my hand all the way to the baggage retrieval area then to the car. We all went to lunch at a nearby restaurant where she made sure she was seated right next to me.
FAST FORWARD to November 2023, Marsha is now all grown up, married and with a son (a sophomore and a member of the Tennis Team) at Anderson College. Marsha herself is the assistant principal at Pelham Road Elementary School in Greenville.
November is of course Veterans Month – Marine Corps birthday on 10 Nov. and Veterans Day, 11 Nov. – and Marsha’s school does something special every November: I understand they have for years. They create a PELHAM ROAD HONOR WALL with pictures and short descriptions of military veterans who are connected or in some way part of the Pelham Road Elementary School family.
“Our school, Pelham Road Elementary, has a social studies committee comprised of teachers and staff from various areas and grades,” says Marsha. “Each year they ask Pelham Road families to submit a picture and information of veterans or those currently serving who have a connection to them. These are displayed on a Pelham Road Honor Wall for everyone to see. It is a small way to honor those who sacrifice so much for all of us.”
This year is no exception, and this year Marsha included yours truly. About a week ago she asked me for a picture from my USMC service. I sent it, but she found two other pictures and posted them too along with a short narrative of my years in service in-and-out of uniform in peace and in war.
I could not be more proud, but especially of Marsha. Some of you may also recall an interview with Anibal Braga of Dunlop Sports conducted last spring by Alan Cooper publisher of MidlandsBiz. See – https://whosonthemove.com/entrepreneur-minute-anibal-braga-dunlop-sports/. Anibal is Marsha’s husband.
WHAT’S NEXT? Friday, Nov. 10 (USMC birthday and eve of Veterans Day), Pelham Road Elementary is hosting a special celebration for all service members and military veterans to be attended by students, faculty, staff, and special guests. The event will feature short presentations and performances by “the all-star chorus”
How great is that?! And how important that we all do what Pelham Road is doing: Honoring those who have sacrificed so much physically, mentally, and emotionally. Let’s not forget South Carolina is a military state – lots of key bases and military friendly surrounding communities – with approximately 388,000 living military veterans who call the Palmetto State home. In fact, though we are a relatively small state, S.C. has the 15th largest veterans’ population in the nation.
I think because we are surrounded by so many military veterans – most all of our dads and grandads served – we often tend to take our military veterans and their military service for granted. When in fact we have something, a somewhat unique resource that contributes in a profound way to our state’s rich history and tradition. All states have military veterans to be sure, but considering all the battles fought on our soil since the colonial era, the overall mission-criticality of our particular military bases, and our always extremely high percentage of military veterans since this nation’s founding, S.C. holds something of a martial-cultural distinction that most states simply do not have.
We should remember and honor all of our military veterans this month and all year long. My dear cousin Marsha and Pelham Road Elementary certainly are.
– W. Thomas Smith Jr. is a decorated U.S. Marine Infantry leader, counterterrorism instructor, and a retired S.C. Military Dept. officer. He was embedded with U.S. Marines and U.S. Army cavalry during the Iraq War, and he has logged time in Israel, Lebanon, Syria, the Balkans and elsewhere around the world. Since the Israel-Hamas war began, he has provided analysis to NEWSMAX and elsewhere. Visit him at http://uswriter.com.
