Last Friday morning Montgomery Elementary students shot their hands to the skies when they were able to ask veterans about their experiences in war, and the veterans were delighted to share.

The veterans are from the American Legion Post 1181 Town of Wallkill, who began the American Legion Program in 2015, a project with the purpose of instilling patriotism in the youth. Groups of 4 to 5 Post 1181 members travel to different schools in mostly Orange County and give a special presentation with different videos, proper flag folding and a Q&A. Over time they’ve spoken to roughly 50,000 students, and Montgomery Elementary School was the most recent participant.

Commander Jim Scali leads the program with a six-minute video describing democracy and America’s rights, insisting that the younger population are key to America’s future.

“If you believe that your opinion, vote or actions have no bearing on this, please rethink and take actions necessary to ensure the survival of this great democracy,” Scali stated in the video.

With the help of students in the crowd, post member Barry Schnipper explains important topics like the Revolutionary War outcome, the Constitution and the difference between empathy and apathy. “Apathy will make you lose your freedoms,” Schnipper said to the students, as he explained that empathetic Americans care about the country and keep it going.

Scali then taught the students about the American flag while post members Paul Eurich and Robert Konrad held it up.

“The colors of the flag have a meaning. Red is for the blood evershed for freedom. Blue is for the bravery of those who sacrificed, and white is for the purity of our democracy,” said Scali.

They then demonstrated how to properly fold the flag into a triangle. Scali explained that it’s folded into this shape because of the hats worn during the Revolutionary War, which fit into a triangle hat box.

Schnipper also played the bugle, a brass instrument similar to the trumpet, as they folded the flag.

During the Q&A session, a student asked Air National Guard Technical Sergeant Robert Kurg if he drove the airplanes. Kurg got the chance to explain just what the air force is about. “Actually in the Air Force there are hundreds of jobs. I fix the aircraft and there are people that actually work and prepare the meals. There’s nurses and doctors. Every single job and every military branch is what helps us work as a team and be able to complete everything,” said Kurg.

Post members also reiterated that women are just as encouraged and supported to serve as men are. “The female has the same opportunity, with the same advances and rights,” said Scali.

The program ends with a video of Lee Greenwood’s “God Bless the USA.” Post members encouraged students to stand up and sing along. After this, the children received yellow “Patriot” wristbands.

“You’re looking at Veterans right here. If we ever had to go back to war because of our age, we would go if necessary because defending this country is so important,” said Schnipper toward the end.