Many alumni of Carbon Career and Technical Institute have gone on to serve in the nation’s armed forces.

The current student body paid tribute to them and all veterans during an assembly Thursday morning.

“We honor every soldier, sailor, airman, Marine and coast guardsman who gave some of the best years of their lives to the service of the United States, and stand ready to give their life itself on our behalf,” said senior Rachelle McFeeley.

The Veterans Day ceremony featured members of American Legion Post 304 in Jim Thorpe, and 123 in Lansford.

Henry Desrosiers, who retired as Carbon County’s Director of Veterans Affairs in 2019, encouraged the students to remember veterans, their family members, and in particular those veterans who paid the ultimate sacrifice.

“Veterans disregard personal well-being and act with undeniable honor to preserve for all citizens of this nation a gift of unapproachable magnitude - our freedom,” he said.

Desrosiers reminded them that there are American servicemen and women currently putting their lives on the line in 150 countries around the world. The need to protect the nation, he said, is just as great as it was years ago.

“Our men and women in uniform both past and present have been and are the most powerful line of defense against enemies that set out to harm our way of life,” he said.

Frank DeMatto, CCTI’s school police officer, served as master of ceremonies. He reminded the students to think of the CCTI graduates who came before them who have served in the military.

The county’s current Director of Veterans Affairs, Christine LeClair, provided the keynote speech.

A veteran who served in Iraq and in other posts around the world, LeClair admitted that it took her until adulthood to fully grasp the sacrifices of the veterans who she looked up to as a child.

“They never spoke of their service, yet they were heroes in every sense of the word,” she said.

LeClair said there are qualities that all veterans share regardless of when they serve. They are summed up by the Army core values of loyalty, duty, respect, selfless service, honor, integrity and personal courage.

“Today troops continue to make the ultimate sacrifice, even as they fall more Americans step forward and say I’m ready to serve,” she said. “They follow in the footsteps of generations of fine Americans, and set an example for generations to come.”