All Niles elementary and middle school students learned about Veterans Day from Thursday through Monday when American Legion William McKinley Post 106 First Vice Commander Robert Marino visited each school over three days.
Marino first Niles Middle School for two programs Thursday as well as programs Friday at Jackson Elementary and Rhodes Elementary. On Monday, Marino conducted two programs at Washington Elementary.
''A veteran is a person who fought to give us the freedoms we have today,'' Marino told students.
The program included poems read by students, pledges to the flags by local Boy Scout troops, patriotic songs and introductions of local veterans in attendance at the programs.
During the program, Marino spoke to the students about the symbolic meanings behind the American flag, asking why there are 13 stripes and explaining why the flag is folded into a triangle shape. While speaking, he walked among the students, asking if they knew any of the answers to the questions, including how many branches make up military service and why there is a 21-gun salute.
Calling several students and teachers to the stage as volunteers, Marinoalso demonstrated how a flag is folded and the proper way a flag should be displayed.