WMRA : More News, Less Noise WEMC: The Valley's Home for Classical Music
Sponsor Message

Sen. Kaine Honors Veterans at Fishburne Military School

Your browser doesn’t support HTML5 audio

Randi B. Hagi

The Fishburne Military School in Waynesboro hosted a Veterans Day event on Thursday afternoon. WMRA's Randi B. Hagi reports.

Senator Tim Kaine noted that the cadets gathered there could not remember a time the country wasn't at war.
Credit Randi B. Hagi

CADET: Alpha! Present -- arms! [sound of uniforms jingling]

The cadets of the Fishburne Military School, clad in sharp gray uniforms, performed a series of drills to open the Veterans Day ceremony, followed by a performance by the school band.

[sound of the band playing The Star-Spangled Banner]

The featured guest, Senator Tim Kaine, noted that the cadets gathered there could not remember a time the country wasn't at war.

TIM KAINE: I don't think we've really wrapped our head around that. We live in a dangerous world, to be sure. … We could be in a war tomorrow with the number of challenges that exist around the world, but with the end of combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, we are now in a unique moment that we haven't known for 20 years in the United States.

A piper plays Amazing Grace on bagpipes.
Credit Randi B. Hagi

The students honored the school's alumni that have died in combat by placing a small American flag into the ground for each one.

CADET: Spanish American War: Richard B. Smith. [sound of bell chime, drumroll] World War II: Robert B. …

This Thursday also marked the 100th anniversary of the death of the school's founder, James A. Fishburne.

[sound of bagpipes playing Amazing Grace]

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Email
Randi B. Hagi first joined the WMRA team in 2019 as a freelance reporter. Her writing and photography have been featured in The Harrisonburg Citizen, where she previously served as the assistant editor; as well as The Mennonite; Mennonite World Review; and Eastern Mennonite University's Crossroads magazine.