Following Veterans Day, Payson Elementary School teacher Sally Rohrbach felt a need to help her students understand why they had a day off from school.
“I think it’s important for the kids to be appreciative and realize that the blessings they have in this country came at a price,” Rohrbach said. She asked her second-grade students to write thank-you letters to local veterans. The results of the project touched the hearts of the children and the veterans who received the letters.
“I learned that one of the vets who received a letter said it was the first time anyone had ever thanked him for his service,” Rohrbach said.
William Spry, a retired Army Sergeant Major, was so moved by the letter he received from 7-year-old Ashleigh Gay, he called the school and asked if he could visit the class in uniform to thank the children personally.
Spry’s photograph now hangs on the wall in their classroom.