On November 7th, Veterans such as Andrea Tullos, Michael Ruane, and Greg Martinez came to Shore Regional to share their stories in honor of Veteran’s day.

The session began with the children from the Gingerbread house daycare performing songs as well as saying the pledge. Next, Mr. Osis gave a heartfelt welcome to the veterans and the students. Then, the veterans shared their unique and amazing stories.  

Colonel Michael T. Ruane served for thirty years of active and reserve duty in the Army. During his speech, Ruane shared his motivation for joining the Army during college. He told us, “I have always felt a bit of responsibility to pay back this country for what it did for my parents.” Ruane has two immigrant parents who moved to America to have better opportunities, and serving in the military was his way of thanking U.S. for what it did for his family. Having immigrant parents allowed him to observe how, “…other countries are trying to obtain what we have.” Ruane cautioned us that the responsibility of serving our country will be passed on soon to us.

Brigadier General Andrea Tullos is an active duty Commander for the Air Education and Training Command. During her time speaking, Tullos spoke about what it means to be an American citizen. She said, “We all serve in different ways.” She shared her opinion about how Americans citizens all work to make America a democracy. Tullos spread the message that even those who do not serve in the military still work to make America the country that it is. She also talked about the reality of being a woman in the military. Tullos said, “I owe a great debt to women who opened the doors..that I just walked through.” Tullos revealed that she did not have as many hardships because of the women before her that established women’s rights to serve in the military.  

Greg Martinez served for forty years as a master technician in the Navy. He revealed that when he entered into the military in 1970, he had a great fear of dying while serving, however, he told the audience, “Are you worried about the dangers?…You are surrounded by danger right now.” He did not want people to avoid going into the military due to their fears. Martinez said, “…no great adventure in life is without great risk.” Martinez told the audience that he is grateful that he was in the Navy as he obtained his great success because of it.

Shore Regional is thankful for the time that the Veterans spent with them.