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Guest Column: Heroes Are All Around Us

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By J.W. Pope

Special To The Tribune

Published: November 14, 2008

VALRICO - When I approached my principal, Tim Ducker, with the plan to host a school-wide celebration in honor of the veterans in our community, I wanted to show the students that our greatest heroes do not go by the names of Brad, Angelina, T.O., Ocho Cinco or Hannah Montana, but are most often called, "grandma," "grandpa," "mom" or "dad."

And it is because of their sacrifices that we have been shepherded through our nation's darkest hours and greatest triumphs.

As a teacher at Mulrennan Middle School, I've tried to bring the subject of American History and Government to life for my students. Over the years, my efforts in the classroom have been met with various levels of success and failures. But never have I seen the opportunity to bring to life what it means to be an American in such a vivid and impactful way as what I have been able to witness over the past two years during our annual Veterans Day celebration.

On Nov. 10, Mulrennan was honored with the presence of some of the greatest heroes that this nation has never heard of. We were proud to host the fathers and mothers serving in our U.S. military that are the living embodiment of Toby Keith's "American Soldier."

They are serving their nation, supporting their spouses, and trying to be a loving, involved mother or father to their children all the while facing the dangers of war half a world away.

We were proud to have among us the husbands and wives that are the counterparts of our servicemen and women. These unsung members of our Mulrennan family are the ones that work 40-plus hours a week while they simultaneously coordinate car pools, laundry, dinners, diapers, homework and everything else that is required to keep a home running smoothly.

Our community also has the great privilege of counting some of the finest representatives to wear the uniform of a U.S. soldier among those that are educating and guiding our next generation of leaders at Mulrennan Middle School.

Perhaps the greatest thing of all is that Mulrennan is not unique in any of these aforementioned areas. Every one of the 200-plus schools in Hillsborough County can respectfully, with enthusiasm, lay claim to the same tradition of service and dedication to country within their communities as we have here at Mulrennan.

Everyone of us have been touched in some way by the service or sacrifice of a serviceman or woman and this nation would not be the bastion of freedom and hope that she STILL is today if it were not for the men and women to whom Veterans Day and Memorial Day are dedicated.

So much more could be said, but I'll simply end with this.

Thank you to all of the soldiers and their families that have sacrificed so much and paid such a price that has allowed this middle school teacher to pursue his passion for educating children and for allowing me the chance to live in the land of the free … because of the brave.

J.W. Pope teaches the AVID program at Mulrennan Middle School.

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