{"id":30294,"date":"2025-11-10T19:07:11","date_gmt":"2025-11-10T19:07:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/30294\/"},"modified":"2025-11-10T19:07:11","modified_gmt":"2025-11-10T19:07:11","slug":"st-ignatius-loyola-regional-school-holds-event-to-honor-veterans","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/30294\/","title":{"rendered":"St. Ignatius Loyola Regional School holds event to honor veterans"},"content":{"rendered":"

As he wandered slowly by the displays set out on long tables inside the cafeteria of St. Ignatius Loyola Regional School on Monday morning, Kevin Wright smiled.<\/p>\n

He recognized many of the monuments and memorials the third grade and eighth grade students had crafted, each a replica of a real-life landmark honoring members of the U.S. military.<\/p>\n

There was the Korean War Memorial from Battery Park in New York City. There was the Netherlands American Cemetery. There was the National World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C. There was the U.S. Air Force Memorial in Arlington, Va.<\/p>\n

\u201cI been to many of these monuments,\u201d said Wright, an Air Force veteran from Spring Township. \u201cThey mean a lot, I think it\u2019s important for the kids to learn about them.<\/p>\n

\u201cI told them they should put going to visit them on their bucket lists.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wright was one of several veterans who got a chance to peruse the displays on Monday as the Spring Township Catholic school held a special event in recognition of Veterans Day.<\/p>\n

The day began with a Mass held a short stroll across a parking lot from the school at St. Ignatius Loyola Church. There, servicemen and women from all branches of the U.S. military were honored and blessed.<\/p>\n

\"BoyBoy Scout Troops 430 and 431 and Cub Pack 862 carry the flags of the different military services during mass at St. Ignatius Loyola Regional School’s Veterans Day celebration on Monday, Nov. 10, 2025, in Whitfield. (BILL UHRICH\/READING EAGLE)<\/p>\n

Afterwards, the veterans \u2014 many family members of students at the school \u2014 were invited to share in a doughnut breakfast with students and check out the monument models they had made.<\/p>\n

\u201cSeeing all the kids here interested in our history and in the military, it warms my heart,\u201d Joseph Baddick said.<\/p>\n

Baddick of Mohrsville served in U.S. Army 82nd Airborne Division from 1970 to 1973. His son, Andrew, also served in the 82nd Airborne Division, losing his life in combat in 2024 in Iraq.<\/p>\n

His experience, both during his time serving and with the loss of his son, has left Baddick with a deep desire to share stories of military history. He\u2019s done it by writing a pair of books \u2014 one about his son and one after interviewing 21 military members recovering from injuries at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Bethesda, Md.<\/p>\n

He said he was glad to be able to continue his efforts to share military stories with the students.<\/p>\n

\"VeteranVeteran Joseph Baddick of Mohrsville talks with students at St. Ignatius Loyola Regional School’s Veterans Day celebration on Monday, Nov. 10, 2025, in Whitfield. Baddick’s son, Andrew, was killed during the Iraq war. (BILL UHRICH\/READING EAGLE)<\/p>\n

Annabelle Miller, an 11-year-old fifth grader, has heard a few of those kinds of stories herself throughout the years, thanks to her grandfather.<\/p>\n

Bill Busher of Sinking Spring is an Army veteran. As he chowed down on some doughnuts with his granddaughter Monday, he marveled at all of the work students had done to make the event special.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m really impressed with everything the kids have done with this,\u201d he said. \u201cAll the displays, they are so awesome.\u201d<\/p>\n

Annabelle said she was glad her grandfather was able to visit her school and be recognized for his service.<\/p>\n

\"BillBill Busher of Sinking Spring visits his granddaughter Annabelle Miller, 11, a fifth grader, at St. Ignatius Loyola Regional School’s Veterans Day celebration on Monday, Nov. 10, 2025, in Whitfield. (BILL UHRICH\/READING EAGLE)<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s really cool that he wanted to help the community and help our country,\u201d she said of his service. \u201cI think the veterans really deserve this today, and it\u2019s really fun because I get to spend time with my grandpa.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joseph Lenzi was also excited about his guest at Monday\u2019s event.<\/p>\n

As he dug into some doughnuts \u2014 something he was also pretty thrilled about \u2014 he sat next to his mother, Samantha Weir.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s cool,\u201d he said about having his mom at the event. \u201cIt\u2019s cool because my mom is in the military, she\u2019s serving the country.\u201d<\/p>\n

Weir is serving in the Air National Guard\u2019s 111th Attack Wing as a heavy equipment operator. She said attending the event was important to her to make sure her sons \u2014 Joseph and 8-year-old Louis Lenzi \u2014 got a sense about what she does.<\/p>\n

\u201cI love it,\u201d she said. \u201cI think it\u2019s important that my sons see strong women. And I think it makes them proud to see their mom recognized.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"SamanthaSamantha Weir, a member of the Air National Guard’s 111th Attack Wing, attends a Veterans Day service at St. Ignatius Loyola Regional School with her children Joseph Lenzi, 12, a sixth grader, and Louis Lenzi, 8, a second grader, on Monday, Nov. 10, 2025, in Whitfield. (BILL UHRICH\/READING EAGLE)<\/p>\n

Providing that recognition and teaching a younger generation about what it means to serve is what the event was all about.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe big thing is service to others,\u201d said Jordyn Tackett, a third grade teacher who helped organize the event. \u201cAnd this is a way where the students can actually show our veterans how thankful they are.\u201d<\/p>\n

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