Students at Ashford Elementary assist Honor Flight

They are too young to really know anything about World War II - except for what they study in their history classes or hear from some of their older family members. That lack of firsthand knowledge, however, did not keep the students of Ashford Elementary School from doing something to honor what has been termed “America’s Greatest Generation.”

As their Spirit of Service project for 2009, the AES students started donating pennies to a special fund to assist Wiregrass Honor Flight in transporting area World War II veterans to Washington, D.C., to see, at long last, a monument/memorial dedicated to them that has been added to landscape of the U.S. Capitol.

What started as pennies quickly included silver coins from the students and dollar bills and personal checks from members of the Ashford community. The “Dollars for D.C.” project literally took off.

“We started off with pennies,” said Beth Pittman, assistant principal at AES, Tuesday morning. “We made it a competition and announced every day how much had been raised. The children got excited about it. They started donating their canteen money. The community got involved and just took over. They really opened their hearts.”

Jim McGhee, of Wiregrass Honor Flight, and Ashford resident Jackson Granberry, an Army veteran who fought in the Pacific Theatre during World War II, were on hand Tuesday morning to accept the monetary gift from representatives of the Ashford Elementary School student body. The students presented their special guests a check for $4,025 - enough funds to allow 11 more WWII veterans to make the trip to Washington, D.C., on the next Wiregrass Honor Flight, which is scheduled for September 19.

AES student Haisten Murphree summed up the mood of the moment after he handed a poster he had made for the occasion to Mr. Granberry. “I just thought it would be good to honor them for what they did for our country,” Murphree said of his artistic creation.

While the “Dollars for D.C.” campaign allowed the 880-member student body to pay homage to those who fought to protect America’s freedoms, the effort also served other purposes as well.

“I’m so proud of them,” said Mitchell Sellers, principal of AES, of his students’ efforts. We thought we would get enough for one or two veterans to make the next trip. Today we learned that 11 will be able to go. For the veterans, that’s great. But this was also a teachable moment for our students. We try to take advantage of those moments. They don’t come around very often. This was an opportunity to show the students how important it is to do something for another generation. To be honest, we can never do enough for them, for the sacrifices they made for our country.”

Mitchell believes the project also taught the students the meaning of sacrifice.

“With the economy like it is - not just for the kids but for their parents - what can I say? I’m just so proud of them. They gave the money (to help others).”

For veterans like Jackson Granberry, who was in line to storm the shores of Japan had the Japanese not surrendered following the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the trip to the WWII monument/memorial, although a quick one, cast a lasting impression on him.

“I can’t really think of the words to describe it,” Granberry said. “I was thrilled to see what was done to honor us. It’s really breathtaking.”

Granberry was also touched by the sincere appreciation the public and members of the Armed Forces showed the veterans during their visit.

“We were so surprised,” Granberry said of the welcome they received. “A group in the airport in Maryland welcomed us. We didn’t expect that. Most everywhere we went, individuals, tourists and soldiers were anxious to welcome us and to thank us for our service.”

It’s an experience Jackson Granberry, 86, will not forget. And now, through the efforts of the Ashford Elementary School student body, their families and the Ashford community, more veterans of World War II will get to visit the lasting memorial honoring their sacrifices in service to their country.