Veterans tell their stories to Carol Stream students

What started out as a library enrichment project on responsibility turned into a schoolwide effort to honor American veterans at Spring Trail Elementary School.

Staff and students at the Carol Stream school honored veterans from all branches of the service this month. The day began with an all-school assembly, followed by veterans visiting classrooms and enjoying a pizza lunch with students and teachers.

Participating veterans ranged from World War II veteran 82-year-old Paul Seger of Bartlett to current-day personnel.

Ret. Army Maj. Ed Lacey of Bartlett, who served in the first Gulf War, wowed Elizabeth Sharf's fifth-graders with tales of his Special Forces exploits.

"I was one of the crazy ones who jumped out of airplanes," said Lacey, who completed 69 static line and 69 free-fall jumps.

Lacey answered questions about wearing uniforms in the desert, described weaponry used and explained how computers were used in the war effort.

Computers didn't come into play for Vietnam-era veterans Larry Trznadel and Gerald Jaros.

"I worked in weather services," said Jaros, who served in Navy and atmospheric data for aircraft missions. "It got pretty monotonous because they didn't have computers back then and you had to do it all by hand."

Students in Shari Baughman's second-grade class wanted to know if the soldiers were ever scared.

"Yes, everyone is scared," said Army veteran Trznadel, who was wounded twice in Vietnam. "If someone says they weren't scared they were full of themselves."

Trznadel added that time spent in the military makes an individual mature more quickly because you learn to take orders.

"That helps with decision-making later in life because you take orders and learn how to do a lot of different things," he said.

Meanwhile over in Linda Haseman's third-grade classroom, Paul Seger regaled students with tales of roaming the world on the USS Betelgeuse, traveling to Africa, Italy, Hawaii and Japan during World War II. He also brought a portrait drawn by an artist in Italy when he was 17 years old.

While students learned a lot about daily military life during different eras, they also discovered universal truths.

"When we landed on Hokkaido, the northern island of Japan after the atom bomb was dropped, people there wanted the war to end," Seger said. "They're just like us -- they don't want war."

Similarly, Lacey explained his feelings when asked if he "liked" going to war.

"It's not so much that you want to go to war -- it's your job," he said.

The assembly included a color guard, presented by the Spring Trail Girl Scouts and Cub Scouts, as well as an introduction of the visiting veterans, and a program of patriotic songs from first- and second-graders, and selected readings from third- through sixth-grade classes.

The vets themselves were more than happy to be a part of it.

"I came because my grandchildren asked me to, and I got a day off of work " said a laughing Trznadel, whose three grandchildren, Tessa, Marissa, and Devin Janaczak attend Spring Trail.

The day was rewarding even for those who had no ties to the school, such as Seger.

"I'm proud to be an American and I'm proud to have been in service and hopefully you can all be proud of your country, too," said Seger.