By NEAL WAGNER / Managing Editor

ALABASTER – Thunderous applause rang through the Meadow View Elementary School auditorium on Nov. 6 as veterans in the U.S. Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, Coast Guard and Merchant Marines rose to their feet.

“Veterans, we are so thankful you are here today,” said MVES music teacher Dennis Jones. “We hope through our program today, we have truly conveyed our gratitude to you.”

During the school’s Veterans Day program, dozens of MVES students lined the bleachers on the school’s stage as they sang patriotic songs such as “Those who served,” “America the Beautiful” and “You are our heroes.”

After the Thompson High School Junior ROTC posted the colors for the Pledge of Allegiance, the MVES student choir sang the “Star-Spangled Banner” for the hundreds of parents and veterans in attendance.

The University of Montevallo clarinet choir played the “Battle Hymn of the Republic” and “The Stars and Stripes Forever.”

Several students also read patriotic poems and spoke about a soldier’s journey from the battlefield back home. Student readers were Marisol Alvarado, Luke Bowen, Samantha Cabiness, Katie Collier, Ethan Deavers, Ashlyn Gamble, Emelia Gray, Ashley Hernandez, Ashton Holmes, Anna Lenoir, Anna Moon, Georgie O’Neal, Jessica Padgett, Laney Williams, Daylen Worthy and Sam Zoebelein.