Children at Pleasant Valley Elementary and Intermediate schools gave a roaring “thank you” to the veterans who came to their annual Veterans Day celebrations on Tuesday.

At the elementary school, the event began with breakfast for the veterans sponsored by Key Bank, and then a parade led by Principal Roger Pomposello dressed as Uncle Sam in red, white and blue, complete with an equally patriotic top hat.

A bagpipe musician provided the music for the parade, which included the veterans and their children or grandchildren at the school.

The parade wound into the gymnasium, where school music teacher Jo Sponsler led each grade in song. The second graders started off the music portion with “Oh I Love America,” followed by the kindergartners with a simple song “Thank You Veterans.” The first graders sang “Sing Out for Our Country,” and the second-graders also sang “My Country Tis of Thee” and “You’re a Grand Old Flag.”

About 90 veterans and current military service personnel attended the event.

Staff Sgt. Christopher Gathings said, “I loved it, especially the singing.” He and Staff Sgt. John Weiler and Sgt. Austin Stewart are Marines working in the recruiting office in Stroudsburg.

When asked about why they joined the Marines, Stewart said, “Honestly, its just for the love of this country. It’s about family, country, support — doing what’s right.”

Over at the intermediate school, opening comments were given by Assistant Principal Lauryn Bencker, who said service and sacrifice are two powerful words that come to mind when thinking about Veterans Day.

“A veteran is simply someone who at a critical moment in their life made a promise to our country,” Bencker said. “They promised to stand up for our freedom and our way of life. This is an extraordinary act of courage. … You are the reason we have the opportunity to pursue our education and chase our dreams. You are our real-life heroes.”

With the presentations, students taught their classmates about flag etiquette, spoke about what Veterans Day is all about, and read a poem tribute.

Other students interviewed two veterans, Cpl. John Lawrence and Pfc. Mike Armstrong, and asked them questions about their service. One joined the military shortly after 9/11 because of that tragedy, and the other said he always wanted to serve, because he was proud of his father who served in the Vietnam War.

The students also presented two wagons of supplies to Tammy Gower with Operation: Touch of Home. The nonprofit organization sends a variety of supplies to local military personnel serving overseas.

Music was sprinkled in the celebration, as well with teacher Jennifer Kuntz singing “God Bless the USA” as she played the guitar, and songs sung by the student body. The children sang “The Star-Spangled Banner,” “America to Me” and closed out the event standing with red, white and blue squares in their hands forming a giant flag. Some of those squares bounced to the music as the students sang the “Thank You Song” by internet celebrity Patty Shukla.

Retired Sgt. 1st Class Henry Zaengle said he enjoys coming out to the Veterans Day events. This is the first year his granddaughter is at the intermediate school, but he has attended the events at the elementary school in past years.

Zaengle said he joined the Army in 1982 because inflation was high and the economy wasn’t good. He served until 2002, and his service included a deployment to Kuwait during Operation Desert Storm in 1991.

After retirement, he took a civil service job at the Aberdeen Proving Ground near Baltimore.

“That’s 43 years of combined service,” he said. “I enjoyed it.”

With a smile, Zaengle said he thinks his granddaughter is proud of his service.