Voices of fifth graders crescendoed through the gym of The Classical Academy’s north campus gym Tuesday as they recited The Gettysburg Address in front of hundreds of fellow students. 

As they came to the end, reaching the pinnacle of their volume, their words filled the gym.

“And that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth,” they said, reciting words the President Abraham Lincoln first penned. 

It was one small portion of a program marking Veterans Day that featured several patriotic performances, including a choral performance of the 1969 song “He Ain’t Heavy He’s my Brother” by the Classical Academy’s high school Jubilate Men. Among more traditional selections, such as the service marches, it was a sober tune reflecting camaraderie built during tough times. 

While veterans certainly served their country, they also looked out for one another in the field, Dr. Chris Benjamin, an Air Force doctor and commander, and a Bronze Star recipient, told the crowd. 

A beloved former member of the school’s teaching staff, Benjamin recounted how the Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan was attacked while he was leading the hospital.

“We put our medics at our hospital along our hospital walls to protect our patients and staff, but it was the base security forces that provided the ultimate defense,” he said. 

When members of the security forces needed care after the attack, it was the hospital staff’s turn to serve them, he said. It was a highly skilled staff, some of whom trained at the Shock Trauma Center at the University of Maryland Medical System. 

Benjamin encouraged the crowd of mostly students to serve their fellow citizens as part of the path to find purpose, virtue and joy. 

“A life of service will be a satisfying way to spend your years,” he said.

He also asked the veterans in the crowd to continue their service working with students and young people in the community. 

“They need your counsel, your mentoring, your story, your encouragement,” he said. 

Jeff Heischman, a member of  American Legion Post 209 and an Army veteran, was in the color guard for the event. He found the event impressive, and he was glad to see fourth graders had learned the preamble to the U.S. Constitution to recite during the event. 

“That’s what our kids need,” he said.