Blue Ridge Elementary School (BRES) students heard that many values taught in the United States Marine Corps apply to how they should conduct themselves.
Brent Ware, who served in the Corps and advanced to the rank of sergeant, spoke to the students during the school’s annual Veterans Day ceremony Wednesday morning, November 5.
Ware told students, “You can make a difference.” To do this, he told them they must work hard, care about others and never give up. “Teamwork matters, respect is important,” and always have courage, he said.
It was “never, never give up” that Ware repeated more than once during his address, expressing a Marine Corps value that translates to all aspects of life.
He encouraged students to “adapt, improvise and overcome,” which is the Marine Corps slogan.
To illustrate, Ware told how he learned many things in the Marines. “I learned I could sleep for an hour standing up in a river,” he said.
“I became a Marine because I love my country. I wanted to protect it,” Ware said.
BRES Principal Mark Young welcomed veterans to the ceremony telling students they are a group who “have dedicated a portion of their lives to protecting our rights and our freedoms.”
Ware told students that no matter what happens, “never forget that we are proud to be Americans.”
