YORK, Pa. — Veterans Day is about honoring the past, but sometimes the past can help mold the future.
The William Penn High School Junior ROTC program in York has become an example of that, as the number of students in the program has doubled in just one year to over 160.
Its students say they joined out of their want to serve and challenge themselves.
"My grandpa is one of the people I really admire," said senior and Battalion Commander John Abril. "He has served before, and I wanted to follow his footsteps and be a great leader on his behalf too."
"I wanted more leadership for myself," said senior and Executive Officer Lisbeth Grullon. "And I wanted to be the first in my family to actually be in the military."
Lieutenant Colonel John Howard is the program’s Senior Army Instructor and says the rise in numbers has to do with students’ need for structure in the years following COVID.
"A lot of the kids really wanted to see themselves in a regimented or disciplined type of program that is forward thinking and contributes to the overall goal and vision of the district," Howard said. "The breadth of the curriculum for JRTC deals with personal core development deals with organizational design, the constructs of how to regiment yourself as a leader, looking at how you develop yourself."
Howard, who served in the Army for 34 years including a stint in Iraq, says he went into teaching in order to make a positive impact on children's lives.
"Every day, I touch the future," Howard said. "Every day, I have an opportunity to impact a child's life. And there are not enough people that really see the importance of giving back."
Howard is one of the veterans on Veterans Day who is helping bring the meaning of service and sacrifice to the new generation.
"I don't believe in passing torches," Howard said. "I believe in lighting other torches on fire because I still have to have the light for my journey as well."