Sept. 15 was National POW-MIA Recognition Day. In honor of our countryís POW-MIAs, the NB VFW and Womenís Auxiliary Post #6424 presented a program to the fifth-grade students at Sunrise River elementary. ìThe students were so attentive,î noted Auxiliary President Valerie Nelson, ìyou could hear a pin drop.î

Nelson would like to thank the teachers and students for allowing them to present the program. The students then set about writing thank you notes to the VFW and Auxiliary. You will find some of those letters on this page.

In addition, to honor the 120 birthday of the Statue of Liberty, which was Oct. 28, the Womenís Auxiliary had the third graders at Sunrise River School and Trinity Christian School color pictures of ìMiss Liberty.î

Their colored pictures will be posted at area businesses from Oct. 26-Nov. 6. The students also learned the following information about the Statue of Liberty:

The Statue of Liberty was given to the United States by France in 1884. It is located on Liberty Island in New York Harbor and is a symbol of freedom.

ï She stands 305 feet and 1 inch from the ground to the tip of her torch

ï Her head measures 4 feet, 6 inches long

ï Her right arm is 42 feet long, her mouth is 3 feet

ï There are 354 steps inside the statue and its pedestal

ï There are 25 viewing windows in the crown

ï She holds a tablet in her left hand that reads ìJuly 4, 1776,î the birthday of our country

Letters from students:

Thank you, I thought your presentation was good because you told me about the wars and I like to learn about them. What I learned was that the stuff on the table all meant something important and each fold of the flag amused me. It means a lot to me that we still have the people who havenít come back from the wars in our thoughts and that we set a beautiful table, just for them. -Whitney

Thank you for coming to our school. I didnít know that POW-MIA means prisoner of war missing in action. My great grandpa Ernie was a prisoner of war, and he came back, so thank you for sharing that information with me.
-Nicholas

I want to thank you for taking time to teach us about VFW and POW-MIA. I want to tell you what POW-MIA means to me. It means: People from America lost lives, homes, themselves and most importantly, families. I want to thank them for that cause they died for: rights, freedom and us.
-Jake

Thank you VFW for coming to our school. I learned so much from you. You made me feel sad and sort of happy. I like how you guys folded the flag the proper way. I never knew that. That was cool that you guys showed us the symbols. -Tabitha