As the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month of the year struck on Monday, Nov. 11, the ceremony to mark Veterans Day officially began at Bethel Regional High School. Students took a break from regularly scheduled classes to join the community in honoring those who served.
Michael Calvetti, Bethel’s Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) post commander, emceed the short ceremony in the gymnasium. But as he explained, not all of those being honored served overseas. Many are also remembered for serving at home in the Alaska Territorial Guard during World War II.
“When Alaska was only a territory, it wasn't even a state yet, they gathered young and old alike to stand the ground and defend the shores of Alaska, those men from villages that some of them don't even exist anymore, grabbed their rifles and became the home front security for Alaska,” Calvetti said. “It wasn't until just like within the last decade or so that they as well were recognized for their service, and they started getting the awards and stuff out to those individuals who deserved it.”
In the gymnasium on Nov. 11, dozens rose from their seats when Calvetti asked relatives of Alaska Territorial Guard members in attendance to stand.
The ceremony also recognized veterans of the United States Army, U.S. Air Force, U.S. Navy, U.S. Marine Corps, U.S. Coast Guard, and another more recently recognized group of veterans, those who served in the U.S. Merchant Marine.
Calvetti said that there are plenty of reasons that Veterans Day means a lot to residents of Bethel.
“There is a huge veteran presence in Bethel. Back in the day, the National Guard used to be prevalent here. Every village had a guard, a National Guard complex. That isn't the case anymore. They're more centralized here in Bethel. But since I've been here, our national guard here has deployed twice to Afghanistan and Iraq,” Calvetti said. “So our veterans here all across the [Yukon-Kuskokwim] Delta deserve that recognition for the time that they spent, whether it be helping with finding lost people with search and rescue by using their assets on the ground, whether it's helping them when there's a, like, when the coast got flooded, or if they're deploying downrange to combat, they deserve that recognition.”
Calvetti also serves as the instructor for the high school’s Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (JROTC). This year, he and his young cadets were honored for their service to the community with a handmade quilt pieced together by a team led by U.S. Navy veteran and VFW Post Member Buck Bukowski.
“I'm floored that he decided that I was worthy of one of his quilts, but to have one given to an ROTC cadet was awesome,” Calvetti said.
After all of the veterans, and potential future veterans, had been recognized, there was little time to reminisce. All the flag poles and patriotic regalia of the event quickly disappeared from the gym just in time for fourth period to begin.