CHS Blog

CHS has two primary objectives in putting together our Veterans Day Program:  to have our Veterans feel welcome, honored and appreciated; and to reinforce with our students the reality that our freedom is not free but comes at the supreme sacrifice and cost to many families.

On Thursday, Nov. 6th, at 9:00am CHS will open its doors to veterans and their families, as we are honored to host them and say thank you!

Captain James Morgia, who recently had his 103rd birthday (yes, you read correctly 103!), sat down with us for an interview that we will show during our program in which he describes graduating from High School in Bridgeport in 1940, joining the reserves and eventually being called up to train for and eventually join the “D-Day” invasion of southern France on the second wave of forces that landed at Normandy to liberate Europe.  Jim gives great detail of his involvement in the subsequent march toward Germany, including his action during the “Battle of the Bulge”.  We also get a fun glimpse of his return to the states after the war as he helped his mom in their grocery store and the interview concludes with Jim singing for us “God Bless America.”  

This is an interview you won't want to miss. I felt so honored to be in Jim’s home and able to listen to him reminisce about that time period in his life and the incredible sense of patriotism and pride that exuded from his every word and expression.  Jim is an active and real life part of our American history. What a privilege to include him and his family in our Veterans program through this video interview.

In honoring and expressing gratitude to our veterans, I have noticed that, without exception, they convey their appreciation for our recognition. However, they also emphasize that the true gratitude and honor belong to their comrades who did not return home, as well as to the families who have endured the ultimate sacrifice by losing a loved one in the fight to preserve the freedoms we should hold dear, yet sometimes take for granted.

We are honored to have Kelly, the sister of Specialist William Maher III who lost his life in the service of preserving freedom on July 28th, 2003 in Iraq.  We are grateful to William's family for allowing us to recognize and bring attention to Bill’s service and his/their ultimate sacrifice.  This is a profoundly personal and deep family loss that is never forgotten and the void left is never complete again in this lifetime.  With full respect for the family we hope to in some small way come alongside this family, draw them into our community and bring Bill’s memory and sacrifice to light.

This summer, I had the opportunity to meet Bill's sister while she and her father were selling a bicycle that Bill had received when he was just eight years old. As I listened to the story about how they had kept the bicycle in the garage all these years, unable to part with this tangible reminder of Bill, I quickly understood that this was “not just a bicycle.”

For his family, the bicycle is a connection to Bill. For us, the bicycle can be a physical connection to the “cost of preserving freedom”, a symbol that I hope, particularly for our students, allows us to more deeply feel and connect with the real cost. Every young child gets a bicycle at some point in their life, often during what is typically a sweet and innocent age.  This bicycle helps bring the reality to life that these men and women that serve, and who in some cases make the ultimate sacrifice are our neighbors, cousins, friends, brothers, sisters, sons, daughters, uncles, aunts, dads and moms, are not simply a number or statistic, but a cherished family. A family member that if they don’t come home will be forever missed, a part of us that can never be replaced.

I explained to Kelly that we wanted to use this bicycle for our program to bring these realities to life.  She was very touched, and I so appreciated her willingness to share as she briefly recalled Bill’s life, humor, service and sacrifice. When I invited Kelly to our program, she readily accepted our invitation and is so grateful for the chance to help honor her brother and bring his life and memory to our community.  We look forward to having Kelly on our campus.

We will conclude our program with what is quickly becoming a beloved tradition, approximately 50 men, students, alumni, parents and faculty singing “How Great thou Art”.  This is a tremendously special and powerful part of our program. There are more than a few of us at this point in the program that have a wet eye or two, because it’s very moving and impactful as the components of honor, gratitude, sacrifice, and ultimately praise to our Lord come together.

We hope you can join us, let CHS be a place that is known for its open expressions of thankfulness to all who have served and sacrificed for the nation.

God Bless America!

John Naeher is the Director of Student Life & Operations.  He started at CHS in the fall of 1981 and began his 43rd yr in the fall of 2023.  His daughters, Amanda 06', Alyssa 06' and Abigail 10' attended CHS from K-12.  John has had the privilege of coaching several teams, sponsoring many Senior Classes and been a part of building community at CHS throughout his career.  “CHS has been a rich part of my family for which I will always be grateful.”