67°
ELMSFORD, N.Y. The worst thing about being in the Army was how much you missed your family, said Jim Martin. And the most important time of the week was mail call, said Armando Galella of Sleepy Hollow, whose heart wrenched for the soldiers who did not receive a package from back home in America.
Martin, a Vietnam veteran, and Galella, a World War II vet, sat alongside five other local Army veterans at the Southern Westchester BOCES' Lower Hudson Regional Information Center in Elmsford this week. They video-teleconferenced with nearly 400 students from 13 Hudson Valley schools. While using new technology to communicate, the students quizzed the veterans about their experiences in the war and what it was like to come home.
"I have no regrets about going into the service," said Ray D'Alessandro, who served in Korea and Vietnam. When asked what his life might have been like if he had not joined the service, he replied: "I haven't the slightest idea. I never thought about it."
The other local veterans who joined the lecture were Vince Speranza of Scarsdale, a Korean War veteran; Bill Zimkin, a Vietnam vet; Ron Whitehead, a Gulf War vet; and Colonel Sam Johnson, a veteran of Bosnia, Iraq and Afghanistan, who is now stationed at West Point.
Lead by Sarah Martabano, SWBOCES' regional and distance education coordinator, the schools took turns engaging the veterans with questions. The schools in Westchester that took part in the teleconference included the Pocantico Hills School, Eastview Middle School Bronxville Elementary School, Lakeland High School, Walter Panas High School, Copper Beach Middle School, Van Cortlandtville Elementary School, Thomas Jefferson Elementary School, Lincoln Titus Elementary School, and Benjamin Franklin Elementary School.
"I think that it would be fair to say that my life probably turned out better as a result of my military service," said Zimkin. "It gives you a lot more appreciation for your country and for your well-being. We live pretty good here in this country. As a result of my military service, I became more aware and more appreciative. And I think that those reasons have made me a better person."
Another goal of the teleconferencing program was to introduce the students to the advent of the new life-feed system. The program allowed 13 schools to take part in a question and answer session with seven veterans while all being in different locations.
The veterans spoke about how they communicated with their families while abroad. In World War II, said Galella, mail took weeks to arrive at its destination, although, in more recent years, soldiers used technological advances to talk.
"Nowadays, a soldier can Skype with their families back home," said Col. Johnson. "A young man can be sitting in Afghanistan and be connected to his family back home instantly, which is really nice that you can talk that easily."
The veterans also took turns speaking about what supplies they carried, what food they ate, and what they did to pass the time.
At the end of the teleconference, the students gave the veterans a standing ovation, cheered, and yelled "thank you" for answering their questions and for serving their country.
Click here to follow Daily Voice Cortlandt and receive free news updates.
