Butner Elementary celebrates Month of the Military Child

Photo By Sgt. Jessica Kuhn | Deborah Coffelt, a native or Albuquerque, N.M., and her two children Hannah, and John raise a flag in memory of their lost loved one, Sgt. Ronald L. Coffelt, 118th Company, 504th Battalion, 16th Military Police Brigade, at Butner Elementary school, April 2. The raising of the flag kicked of the schools celebration, Month of the Military Child. The purpose of Month of the Military Child is to honor the sacrifices and service of military children.  

FORT BRAGG, NORTH CAROLINA, UNITED STATES

04.03.2009

Story by Spc. Jessica Kuhn 

49th Public Affairs Detachment   

FORT BRAGG, N.C. - As the April showers arrived and the first signs of spring appeared, the students, faculty, and guests of Butner Elementary School began their celebration, the Month of the Military Child.

"We often hear in the news stories about our heroes that fight for our freedom," said Deborah Coffelt, the wife of a fallen Soldier and mother of two Butner students. "We don't, however, hear about our little heroes, the children that stand behind our Soldiers."

The celebration commenced with the raising of a flag by Coffelt, a native of Albuquerque, N.M., and her two children Hannah, and John outside the school, April 2.

Coffelt's husband, Sgt. Ronald L. Coffelt, 118th Company, 504th Battalion, 16th Military Police Brigade, died of wounds from an improvised explosive device in Iraq, July 19, 2007. The flag raised by the Coffelts was flown in Iraq in memory of their father and husband.

"The Coffelt children know what it means to serve this country better than most because they have made the ultimate sacrifice," said Sharon K. Hall, the principal of Butner Elementary School.

Immediately following the raising of the flag, the ceremony started with opening remarks from Hall, a native of Durango, Colo., describing the purpose of the Month of the Military Child.

"This month is to celebrate the service that the children put into the military," she said. "Often their sacrifices are hidden or unknown, or people are unaware of what they go through, so this month is to honor them."

Throughout the ceremony, children from each grade stood outside the school and read their essays aloud stating "What it means to be a military child."

"These children are like no other in the history of our time," Hall said. "All they have known since birth is war and deployment."

The children also performed several patriotic songs including "The Army Goes Rolling Along," "God Bless America" and "A Song of Peace."

In addition to the children's performances, the ceremony included several guest speakers expressing their take on what it means to be a military child, which was followed by an emotional speech from Coffelt.

"I have learned from these children that face change like a willow tree," Coffelt said while tears rolled down her cheek. "They bend with change but do not break, and our children are unlike any children in the world. These children have strength and courage that match, if not exceed, that of their parents."

Approximately three-fourths of the children at Butner have parents who are currently deployed, Hall said.

Hall, who has worked in the military school system more than 40 years, knows the effects of parents deploying better than most.

"I will always remember this one day when I saw a father kneeling down in the atrium with his little girl and they were both sobbing," she said, choking up as she continued. "The little girl just kept saying 'Daddy don't leave, Daddy don't go' but he had to leave."

Besides the opening flag raising and ceremony, the school has several other plans to help continue the celebration of the Month of the Military Child.

For instance, Hall explained the children can bring their heroes to lunch all month, including a special lunch in the newly renovated courtyard, where all the children helped plant flowers. There is also a special field day planned which will bring the Month of the Military Child celebrations to an end.

"These children come to school with smiles upon their faces," Coffelt said. "They laugh, they play, they even argue, but most of all, they love deeper than any because they know the price of our freedom better then any!"

• Date Taken: 04.03.2009
• Date Posted: 04.03.2009 12:46
• Story ID: 31979
• Location: FORT BRAGG, NORTH CAROLINA, US