By Laura Lane
Joe Librizzi, a veteran of the Navy's submarine division, and chairman of the UVO's flag etiquette division, used humor to capture children¹s attention. He and fellow veterans shared their wartime experiences and the importance of the American flag.
³This is the biggest program of its type in the United States,² said Librizzi. ³We reach out to 15,000 students a year. Our kids are the best kids in the world.²
Fayette children watched a video showing the history of the American flag. Then the veterans explained the proper way to display, fold, fly and dispose of the flag.
³We have a tremendous influence on these kids,² said Librizzi. ³No one does what we do.²
Begun in 1997, the flag etiquette program was a response to the New York State education law, which that year required flag etiquette be taught in the schools. ³The schools didn¹t have the wherewithal to teach about the flag like we can,² said Librizzi. ³We knew teachers themselves that didn¹t know a lot about flag etiquette. When we do the assembly, they come up to us and tell us they didn¹t know certain things.²
Flag etiquette is the biggest program of the UVO, an umbrella organization comprising 30 veterans groups. Members who attended Fayette¹s assembly were Marines and Navy men who fought in World War II and the Korean War. Their patriotic message and information about the flag appeared to reach students.
³They take the history of the flag and put it into words the kids can understand, and they add humor,² said Lisa Sokol, a second-grade teacher at Fayette.
Benjamin Falbo, 7, said he learned a great deal at the assembly. ³I didn¹t know that 'The Star Spangled Banner' started out from a war that happened, and that once our flag had 13 stars,² said Falbo. ³I really liked that we got a chance to learn about the flag. I¹m going to go home and tell my parents about it.²
Comments? LLane@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 236.
