TORRINGTON – Seventh-grade Language Arts students have spent the past several weeks, learning about the ongoing war in the Middle East and what it means to be a soldier, particularly when those who’ve served come back from the field of battle and re-integrate into their communities.

It was a personal learning experience for Maia Harris, 13, whose father, Cayle, retired in 2015 after a 25-year military career, which included deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan. 

What they learned through their studies included the fact that many returning veterans have a difficult time of it, even with the G.I. Bill helping out, as they try to transition back into something resembling a normal life by attending college. One student they learned about at Eastern Wyoming College commutes for classes daily from Lusk, for example, and the cost of gasoline alone is almost cost-prohibitive.

So, the students decided to do something about it. As part of an annual Service Project their teacher, Kelsey Empfield, ask her students to do, this year’s classes are tackling the issue with a two-pronged approach. 

The students are currently raising funds to purchase gasoline cards to help college-bound veterans pay for the cost of commuting. They’re also seeking donations to help cover some of the other educational costs veteran’s benefits just don’t address.

For the second part of the project, the students are planning a breakfast banquet for military veterans and their families in the local community. The date and time for the banquet are still somewhat up in the air, Ms. Empfield said, as they wait to see how many donations they receive – both monetary and supplies.

They’ve set a goal to raise about $2,000, she said. For folks in the community who can’t afford a monetary gift right now, they’re also accepting donations of supplies – coffee, cups, plates, etc. – to help with the service.

“These kids have been doing a phenomenal job learning about the military,” Ms. Empfield said. “I asked them, in general at first, what did they know about the war? 

“They said, ‘Well, things with North Korea are getting bad,’” she said. “They had no concept of the war in the Middle East, of how many lives have been lost, how many sacrifices have
been made.”

The whole idea started with a memoir project Ms. Empfield assigned to some of her students. One of the students wrote about her father in the military and the trials their family went through.

“I got to thinking about the other students, especially seventh graders, kids whose parents are in the military,” Ms. Empfield said. “We were looking for a service project and veterans seemed like a good fit for this
year’s group.”

Several telephone calls later – some of which were never returned, Ms. Empfield said – and she’d spoken to members of the student veteran organizations at both EWC and Western Nebraska Community College in Scottsbluff. And the idea
was born.

“I presented the idea to the (seventh-graders) and they wanted to go for it,” she said. “The kids then had the idea to host the breakfast banquet for the veterans, to take the time to thank them for their service.”

Through the process, everyone learned something – about the military, about soldiers and about the difficulties adjusting to life after the military, including dealing with the loss of comrades.

“I thought it sounded like a good idea,” said Ernesto Romero, 12. “Some of the veterans, they can’t afford to go to college. We’re going to make them a banquet and donate text books so they can go to college.”

Even the teacher was able to become a student, at least to a certain degree, through the project. Ms. Empfield said it was an eye-opening experience, learning as her students learned. Her father is an Army veteran who served a two-year enlistment in peace time, very different from soldiers today, she said.

“I didn’t know about the effects of being deployed, of being in the military, had on the families,” she said. “I learned about that through some of my students with parents deployed, the stress they endure when they don’t know if their parent is going to be okay and come home safe.”

Maia Harris, the student whose father was career military, agreed. She thought lending a helping hand, as well as honoring the veterans with a banquet, was a good way to show the community’s gratitude.
“I think this will make them see they are very appreciated,” Maia said. “Without them, we wouldn’t be where we are right now. They need to know they’re supported in more ways than one.”

Deadline to contribute is Friday, but additional contributions will be accepted, by mail, through the following week. Bring or send contributions to the attention seventh grade language arts department, Torrington Middle School, 2742 West E Street, in Torrington.