I
grew up in a military family and served on active duty in the US Air Force for 21 years. So when I finally retired in 2013 and moved to Argyle, for the first time since I was in the second grade in upstate New York, I was not living in the immediate vicinity of a military base. For the first time in about four decades, I wasn’t seeing people in uniform wherever I went. I wasn’t seeing fighter jets flying overhead, and I didn’t hear the National Anthem play over loudspeakers at 4:30 p.m. as the duty day came to an end. For me, it was almost like being on foreign soil – I didn’t quite know what to expect from a community so isolated from the military culture. If I was on foreign soil, figuratively speaking, it wasn’t long before I realized I was not by any means unwelcome. Especially when I began working at Argyle ISD in 2014, I began to see just how appreciative this community and the Eagle family really are. Up until this year, with COVID-19 radically changing everything we do, our Veterans Day activities were always something to look forward to. Hilltop Elementary School would display uniforms worn by me and other local veterans, Argyle
Intermediate School would host a breakfast for us, and Argyle Middle School would have an assembly with veterans and their families as special guests. Argyle High School was truly special – after a welcoming breakfast, many of our local veterans would head to the auditorium to join panel discussions with history classes throughout the day. This was always a treat. Since my first time participating in 2015, our panel has included parents of Argyle ISD students, a student’s great-grandfather who was a World War II pilot, as well as Argyle resident Lieutenant General (Retired) Charles Hamm who, coincidentally enough, was the Superintendent of the US Air Force Academy in the late 1980s when I was a cadet there! Last year, my father was visiting during Veterans Day and, as a retired Colonel who served 27 years in the US Air Force, joined us on stage for the day. It was a true pleasure to share the spotlight with my Dad!
THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE
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• Argyle Insights • Winter 2020
Last year, Argyle ISD did something new which also resonated with Argyle ISD students and families. At the last home football game, around two dozen veterans from the Argyle community gathered in the end zone prior to the start of the game, formed up, and saluted the colors when the AHS band played the National Anthem. People in the stands probably couldn’t tell, but there were tears in our eyes as us “old guys” were able to honor our nation together. Sadly, COVID-19 has not allowed us to continue these amazing traditions. But that does not mean the appreciation has been any less noticeable. The school choirs posted excellent renditions of our service songs and the National Anthem, and the “thank yous” are clearly heartfelt. Tribute videos were created by all the campuses and are available on the district and campus websites and social media. These were incredible celebrations by our Eagles! All of our veterans signed up for various reasons, but it was never for the applause. Still, what we experience here in Argyle ISD shows us what we and our families endured and sacrificed still resonates with the community and our young people here. For this, we are grateful in return.
Paul D. Cairney, Lt Col, USAF (Ret)
