Press Release Lt. Colonel Michael DeBolt (402) 980-0554 Director of Army Instruction
Omaha Public Schools Vietnam Parade Fundraiser
Omaha, NE- The National Vietnam Veterans Parade takes place March 29, 2023 on Vietnam Veterans Day in Honolulu, Hawaii. Hawaii was the state that our Vietnam Veterans left from to the war and came home to after the war. It is fitting that this great state play host to the largest welcome home event for our Vietnam Veterans. This parade will feature Omaha Public Schools Junior ROTC cadets.
The school district will be represented by 32 cadets and 8 chaperones. A fundraiser is scheduled at Northwest High school on October 9th. Cadets are collecting pledges for each lap they march around the track with a goal of 20 laps or 5 miles. Each lap represents each year the United was in Vietnam, 1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975.
Army JROTC traces its history back to the American Scientific, Literary, and Military Academy, later known as Norwich University, founded in 1776 by Captain Alden Partridge. Then, under the National Defense Acts of 1916, High Schools were allowed to have federal military equipment and instructors. This marks the birth of Junior Reserve Officer’s Training Corps. Ever since then, Army JROTC has grown to include over 1,725 schools all across the United States and its territories. Omaha Public Schools started its program in 1893 and has over 900 cadets in nine high schools.
To motivate and develop young people to become better citizens is the goal of Junior ROTC. To accomplish this goal, it combines classroom instruction and extracurricular activities oriented on attaining an awareness of the rights, responsibilities, and privileges of citizenship; developing the student’s sense of personal responsibility; building life skills; and providing leadership opportunities.
Omaha Junior ROTC cadets have participated in pass out of the classroom opportunities by traveling to the battlefields of France for the 70th and 75th Anniversary of D-Day and participated in the 75th Pearl Harbor Commemoration Ceremony. The travel changes students’ lives for the better by experiencing new and different cultures. Of those that made the trips, 92% say that it has a lasting impact on their worldview, and more than half say it was the most important experience of their lives
Schedule of March-A-Thon Events
March-a-thon (9am to 11am)
Date: Sunday, October 9th
Northwest High School
8204 Crown Point Ave.
Donations can be made to Omaha Schools Foundation:
3861 Farnam St.
Omaha, NE 68131