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American Legion educates Austintown second-graders about Pledge, military
By ROBERT CONNELLY
AUSTINTOWN
The students were clamoring with their hands raised and some saying, “Pick me!”
Sam Swoger III, first vice commander of American Legion Post 301 here, picked second-grade students at random to wear different military branch hats for a salute exercise Tuesday at Austintown Elementary School.
It was the second day of teaching the second-graders about the Pledge of Allegiance, branches of the military and patriotism.
Swoger worked with Linda Milne and Carol Vaughn, both auxiliary members of American Legion Post 301, for quick 30-minute classroom visits.
American Legion is “not just to help vets, but one of our main functions within the American Legion is to educate the youth. That’s why we have Boys State for the juniors and seniors” in high school “... and that’s why we do this program,” Swoger said. “You’d be surprised what [the kids] know already. A lot of people say they don’t, but they’re well aware of how many states” there are.
Milne started each presentation with the kids saying the Pledge of Allegiance, but stopping to talk about certain words, such as “republic” or “indivisible.”
In one classroom to help students understand indivisible, she had students list “The Avengers,” from the Marvel comic books and movie series, and used that fictional group as an analogy for America’s armed forces.
“They help us, help us what? Help us get rid of the bad guys and they are indivisible,” Milne said.
The students then would say the pledge together, standing with their hands over their hearts, and then Swoger discussed his military career and passed out the hats and two coats.
The students selected to wear the hats and coats stood in a line, saluted, and then kids were selected to hold the flags and do a pledge again. One of the coats provided for the activity was Swoger’s own from his service time.
Swoger told the kids he served in the Army from 1967 to 1969 in Germany guarding nuclear missiles.
Austintown Elementary Principal Tom Lenton said when he was first approached about the program by Milne, a former special education teacher for the school district, he thought it was a great idea.
“We do the Pledge of Allegiance every day, however, this is a real specific thing and they discuss in detail about what the pledge means and about the armed services,” he said. “Even at this young, tender age, we’re trying to talk to them about careers and colleges.”
Lenton further said education at a young age is about “planting seeds” and that’s what a classroom visit like the American Legion’s can be for children.
Swoger said this is the second year of the program and a similar program has begun in Newton Falls this year. In fact, Swoger and the American Legion will be back in the Austintown schools next week to speak to fifth grade students about the American flag.
The program “is starting to spread and we’re trying to get other posts to do it in the area. It’s good to educate the youth,” he said.
The second grade students received comic books that discussed the Pledge of Allegiance, with activities for kids in the book. For example, one page has a picture of the country and asks the student to put a star on what state they live in.
Swoger, along with Gary Kommel, commander of the American Legion Post 301, talked to second grade students on Monday about the topics.
Similar comic books will be passed out to the fifth grade students next week but focused on their subject, the flag.