ELDRED – Veterans Day was commemorated Friday at the Otto-Eldred
Elementary School with Susan Zirkle and her 4th grade students.

Three local veterans were invited to speak and interact with the
students. They included Merle Zetler, who served three years with
the Merchant Marines in World War II; Ralph Jordan, a veteran of
the Korean War; and Steve Appleby, recently retired from the Army
Special Forces after 27 years of service. His action was mainly in
Central America with guerilla warfare.

“Since I have never done anything to commemorate Veterans Day,”
said Zirkle, “it seemed like a good idea. The students really did
not know much about Veterans Day. I told them how it was first
called Armistice Day, and then it became Veterans Day, the 11th day
of the 11th month.”

Students also learned about the significance of the red
poppy.

The students wrote papers on what they thought a hero should be
and presented them to the veterans. Students raised questions such
as where were the veterans when they were serving and what they did
for their country, where did they sleep and what was the food.

Veteran Appleby, who served with the Airborne and Paratroopers
for 18 years, appeared in full dress uniform. He said, “When I was
a kid, these guys (Zetler and Jordan) were my heroes.”

Like the other two veterans, he told about all the nice people
he met in the service. He said his mission now is to track them
down and told about how close they became.

He also said the Merchant Marines were the heroes of World War
II, as they transported supplies and ammunition, and if their
engine broke down at sea, they couldn’t call for help and had to
fix it themselves.

“One feels like one is worth something while serving their
country. I wouldn’t trade my experience for the world,” he
said.

Ex-Marine Jordan told about his experience in North and South
Korea – how he went from the heat of South Korea to 60 degrees
below zero in North Korea.

He said, “We had to keep changing our shoes and socks because
they were covered in ice.”

He spent a lot of time in foxholes and was wounded twice. He
said he actually joined the Marines after an argument with his
father over which college he should attend.

He brought along his dress blue uniform jacket for display.

Veteran Zetler brought a Merchant Marine shirt that he wore in
World War II and pointed out to students on the map how he had
traveled many times over the ocean by ship to transport supplies.
He said he volunteered for the Merchant Marines because he knew he
would be drafted otherwise.

He told the students, “War is a terrible, terrible thing, and I
hope you never have to experience it.”

The three veterans seemed to enjoy sharing their experiences
with each other as well as the students.

Zirkle displayed the full dress uniform which had been worn by
her grandfather in World War I. It included the underwear, the
helmet and a long cloth, which was used as legging. Her grandfather
was the former George Zetler of Duke Center.