Honor and respect: SHS students pay tribute to area veterans

First, humility. Second, orientation of authority. And third, responsibility.

Those values were drilled into him as a young private in the military, Bryan Hult told Sandpoint High School students as they packed the school’s gymnasium for the first live Veterans Day tribute in two years.

Hult, a retired U.S. Army brigadier general and Bonner County Veterans Services officer, said he wanted to share those values with the students in honor of the veterans who have served, are serving and will serve in the future.

“I am here because these veterans in front of you and me,” he said. “I want to honor them because it’s not about me. Today. It’s about them. And it’s really about you.”

Who are you, he asked the students. That is something they get to determine as they live in a time of change. Seeing that, he told them he wanted to share with them what he wishes someone would have told him in high school.

Those values — and the values found in those who serve in the Navy, Martines, Air Force, Army and Coast Guard — are key.

Those values of honor, courage and commitment follow along with their dedication, maturity and dependability .

The country’s soldiers follow the values of integrity first, service before self and excellence.

“They show duty, respect, selfless service, honor, integrity, and personal courage,” Hult said.

As he began to talk about the three values he wanted to impart, Hult told the students he wasn’t going to sugarcoat what he had to tell them because they needed someone to shoot straight with them. That, he said, was what he would have wanted as a high school student almost 50 years ago.

“You’re looking for people who will be honest, and tell you the truth, and be healthy for what the future is,” Hult said. “So that’s what I’m going to do for you.”

First of all, life is not about them, instead it is about developing others, he added.

“Because when you develop others, you will have developed yourself. In bringing people into your tribe, you can stay up against the lows of life itself. And if you know who you are, it’s not so much the details of knowing what you’re going to be doing in life. It’s a question of who are you going to be.”

Humility encompasses all of the values found in those who serve, Hult told them. He recalled a drill sergeant who ordered them to do pushup after pushup; who would go into their barracks as they stood at attention, throw everything onto the floor and then give them 15 minutes to get into order.

Orientation to authority is really the ability to follow the chain of command, of being able to listen to a teacher or follow the traffic laws while driving.

“We learned that each of our parts [in the military, just like every part on the football team or organization,” Hult said. “Every one is part of the whole.”

Those lessons learned at boot camp, would transfer into combat, he told the students.

“Orientation to authority, not something that’s easy to learn at all in life,” he added. “When you look back at life, it’s one of the greatest things that will cause you to become great.”

Like the first two, responsibility is a key value in the service — and in life, Hult said.

In introducing the veterans as they walked into the gymnasium, escorted in honor by members of the Sandpoint High School Student Council, Alex Manning said it was a privilege to welcome them to the school.

“They are the toughest and most virtuous warriors to walk on the face of the earth,” he said. “When they were called to serve, they didn’t hesitate and went to lands they didn’t know and put their lives on the line so that we might be free.

Manning said the country’s veterans came face to face with evil as they served their country but did not back down.

“A true testament to their character is how they live their lives after the war,” he added. “They returned to home, raised their families and volunteered in their churches and local communities, including the veterans posts.”

They care for the wounded. They stand alongside Gold Star families, Manning said.

“Every day they think and pray for their brothers and sisters in arms,” he added. “They never gave up, and never forget, especially those who lay their lives down and the prisoners of war.”

Being able to host the veterans after two years of either not having them or having a drive-by tribute means the world, Sandpoint teacher Mary Sanchez said.

It is important to let the veterans know how much they are appreciated — and it is equally as important for the students to be able to meet the veterans and learn from them, to hear their personal stories.

“The kids need to be able to hear from them,” Sanchez said. “It’s important for them to be able to touch them, to able to talk to them, to be able to shake their hands. I think that’s important, because otherwise I don’t think our kids understand the magnitude [of their service].”

Being a part of Girls State gave her a deep appreciation of those who serve, said Elly Pincher, a member of the student council.

“[Now] I feel so strongly about how important it to show the veterans how much we appreciate their service,” she said. “That is huge.”

Being able to help put on the ceremony was important, and allowed her to show her appreciation for those who serve, Kimberly Yarnell said.

“I just love Veterans Day assembly because everybody’s really respectful and lets the veterans know how much they mean to us,” she said. “It’s really nice to see like our generation be respectful and stuff. But I’m really happy that somebody came and it means a lot that they came so that we can appreciate them.”