As part of a Veterans Day program, Battle of the Bulge veterans Frank W. Maresca of Effort, Clem Reed of Slatington, and Quinton Snyder of Palmerton, shared their World War II experiences with students at Lehighton Area High School on Monday morning.

According to LAHS Social Studies Department Chair Bill Brong, all high school students and faculty were given the opportunity on Friday to view "Marching Once More," a DVD detailing the 2004 return trip of World War II vets to Normandy.As a follow-up to the video, some of these same vets from "The Greatest Generation" that were part of the video participated in special presentations at the high school Monday morning. With an intimate, smaller group setting, social studies students were able to directly interact with the veterans by asking questions and viewing their personal memorabilia up-close."Our freedom is not free," said Maresca, a member of the 75th Infantry Division. "It has to be earned and retained."As track commander of the 465th Armored Division, Reed recalled, "Our half-tracks could fire off 500 rounds of ammunition a minute.""Unfortunately, we are losing 852 World War II vets a day," reflected Snyder, a member of the 31st Combat Engineers and a 1941 graduate of Lehighton High School.All three vets are members of the Lehigh Valley Chapter of Veterans of the Battle of the Bulge. Members generally meet the third Tuesday of the month at 11 a.m. at Best Western near Routes 22 and 512 in Bethlehem. Each month, these vets gather for lunch, guest speakers, and camaraderie.In addition to speaking to students, Maresca has written a book about his World War II experiences, "A Soldier's Odyssey: To Remember Our Past as It Was." It took Maresca 17 years to research and another nine years to write."This is the 14th year that we have been bringing local veterans of the Battle of the Bulge to speak to our students," said Brong. "We certainly need to thank these and all vets."The talk was followed by a special luncheon.