Eight-year-old Owen Van Orden knows a couple of veterans — his dad served in the air force and his grandpa in the navy. He, too, wants to serve in the military.

Third-grader Classmate Precellia Rolf knows two veterans as well — her mom and her grandpa.

She and her mother visited a nearby cemetery, placing flags on 32 veterans’ graves.

“We wanted to say, ‘we remember you and the sacrifice you gave for us and our country,’” she said. 

Bella Vista classmate Goldie Westover knows “they have done a lot for our country and for making it better.”

“I had a great-grandpa who was in World War II and I’ve heard his stories that have been passed down through the generations,” she said. “My uncle was in the service, too. It’s important we remember them.”

In fact, half of Wendie Nielson’s class have veterans in their family. That’s why a class project to write to veterans was important to so many third graders.

“It’s nice to recognize the veterans with letters to brighten their day,” Nielson said. “I always felt they needed the recognition. They sacrificed a lot for us to be able to be free.”

On a lined paper with the outline of a soldier they colored artistically, students thanked those who served for being “nice and brave,” “helpful, mindful and kind” and for “keeping us safe and protecting our freedom.” 

The students also expressed gratitude for the veterans’ sacrifice.

“They gave of themselves and their time with their families to help our country,” 8-year-old Miguel Soares said. “We need to thank them.”

Earlier, the students learned Veterans Day was first-called Armistice Day, which marked the World War I truce, until the name was changed by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1954 to honor all military veterans. They also watched a video about the holiday and were planning to read a book as a class.

Nielson said it’s been a long-standing tradition in her class to learn about Veterans Day.

“I've always sent students’ letters to the VA (veterans affairs) hospital and I always hear back from them. They send a letter thanking us for the letters. I read it to the kids; it’s a nice thank you and it also reinforces the importance of writing thank-you letters to the students,” she said. 

Those third graders and their schoolmates were able to thank veterans for their service in person on Nov. 11 as those who have served and are serving greeted them at school.

“It means so much to the veterans that we thank them and understand what they did,” Nielson said, who’s dad was in the air force and grandfather served in the army.

She also shared a story about how her World War II neighbor served in Pearl Harbor and it was a few days before his family knew he was safe.

“It's important they learn our history. It's important they have an understanding,” Nielson said. “It's especially important to remember Veterans Day because we need them. What would we do without them?”