November 5, 2009 - “Sometimes it slips your mind…why you served. But a night like this, it really makes you remember. Thank you.”

Those were the words of Ryan Smithson, author of Ghosts of War: The True Story of a 19-Year Old G.I. and the featured presenter at the eighth annual Veterans Day Celebration held Wednesday evening at Shaker High School.

The auditorium was decorated in patriotic colors. The North Colonie students attending and participating were clothed in red, white and blue. Veterans, who were in attendance, took their seats early and listened to the Shaker High School Chamber Players, as they played a variety of patriotic tunes. If you closed your eyes, you would have thought it was the Fourth of July. But this night was about our country’s veterans.

“Our veterans deserve our deepest appreciation and respect,” Shaker High School Social Studies teacher and event coordinator, Dan Weaver said.

Shaker High School senior and World of Difference member, Eleni Papadopoulos, introduced her father, Retired Lieutenant Colonel Michael Papadopoulos (left), who delivered the keynote address. Papadopoulos expressed his appreciation to all who served our country and said that it was truly a privilege to be speaking at such a wonderful event.

In a very poignant moment, Papadopoulos asked all veterans in attendance, and those who are serving our country to stand. As they rose, the audience gave the men and women in uniform a rousing ovation that lasted nearly a minute.

View List of Award Winners from Veterans Day Celebration

Ryan Smithson (right), of East Greenbush, was the featured presenter and delivered a very moving speech. Smithson, who as a junior in high school witnessed the events of September 11, told the audience that it was those very events that made him join the United States Military.

“I knew I wanted to serve in some way,” Smithson said. “My country had been attacked. My people had been attacked. Enlisting, volunteering, and giving myself for the greater good: that’s what you’re supposed to do in this situation. So, I did it.”

After a brief introduction, Smithson read a chapter from his book. He talked about watching the terrorist attacks of September 11 as a junior at Columbia High School, in East Greenbush. He spoke about feeling the need to do something to help. Smithson was desperately searching for a purpose in his life. Ryan and his girlfriend, Heather, visited Ground Zero shortly after the attacks. He remembered how quiet it was. There were hundreds of people walking around, but no one spoke. He watched a mother walk up to a fence that had a young man’s picture on it. He watched her lay a fresh bouquet of flowers at the base of the fence and rest her face in her hands. He and Heather began to cry. It was at this moment, Ryan Smithson found his purpose in life. The following is an excerpt from Ryan’s book:

“I felt trapped in rubble and the pressure was overwhelming. The Twin Towers didn’t fall in Manhattan. They fell on me. There is a certain romanticism that comes with being young. Young men and women just released from high school are ready to take on the world. They want to save it. They try for a while, but then they often get to a certain age and they give up. Because the world is a big place. It’s impossible to fix, they think. And that’s the problem I saw. America had given up. And that’s why the World Trade Center was allowed to fall. If I don’t do something, who will? I thought. I stopped crying. A month later I left for basic training.”

This was an evening dedicated to our country’s veterans. Stories were shared, tears were shed, but the overall meaning was not lost on the audience. Perhaps the evening was summed up best by Superintendent Randy Ehrenberg:

“I stand here tonight in awe of the veterans in this auditorium,” she said. “Thank you for repeatedly teaching us what patriotism means.”

View Powerpoint shown at Veterans Day Celebration (pdf)