Elk Grove High students pay tribute to veterans

Elk Grove High School paid tribute to veterans Thursday with a community breakfast, school assembly and display of military equipment.

That included student tours of a U.S. Army STEM demonstration truck that showcases career opportunities ranging from engineering to medicine.

The scheduled landing of a Black Hawk helicopter was canceled, however, due to high winds.

The Illinois Army National Guard's UH-60 Black Hawk, however, is scheduled to land at 9:30 a.m. Friday at John Hersey High School as part of the Arlington Heights school's Veterans Day activities. Students will be able to tour the aircraft until it returns to base at 2:15 p.m.

Like Elk Grove on Thursday, Hersey on Friday will welcome veterans for breakfast, and host an assembly with patriotic music and a keynote address by Maj. Gen. Matthew Baker, commanding general of the Army Reserve's 88th Readiness Division headquartered at Fort Snelling, Minnesota and Fort McCoy, Wisconsin.

Also delivering remarks will be retired Army Maj. Gen. James Mukoyama, founder of Military Outreach USA, a faith-based nonprofit that helps veterans and their families cope with visible and invisible wounds of war.