Comcasters have been hosting, and sponsoring, the History™ channel’s Take a Veteran to School (TAVTS) programs all over the country. The program is based on a simple idea: teach history by having people who participated in that history visit schools, and one recent experience in West Virginia really shows the power of this program.

We, along with other members of the West Virginia Cable Telecommunications Association (WVCTA) - partnered with the History™ channel to bring TAVTS to West Virginia. This is the second consecutive year that WVCTA facilitated the program in collaboration with the West Virginia Veterans’ Council, the West Virginia Veterans’ Coalition and History channel. Check out WVCTA’s website about the program.

This year 13 TAVTS events were held at high schools throughout WV in the weeks surrounding Veterans Day. U.S. Senator Jay Rockefeller (D-WV), a member and former chairman of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, helped launch the project at Brooke High School in Wellsburg while student videographers from West Virginia University captured veterans interacting with students and teachers. Congressman Alan Mollohan (D-WV 1st) participated in an event at East Fairmont H.S. in Fairmont, WV and numerous state legislators and local elected officials participated in other events.

These events gave all of us a chance to honor our military veterans and created an opportunity for student to both learn from and appreciate the veterans’ contributions to our country. The veterans shared their stories with the students, and those stories will be share with the worlds thanks to the Library of Congress’ Veterans History Project. This project collects and preserves the remembrances of American war veterans and civilian workers who have supported our country and serve as an inspiration for generations to come.

In addition to the school events a group of students from Musselman H.S. in Inwood, WV traveled to Washington, DC to participate in a National Teach-In on Veterans History at the Library of Congress. While in Washington our own Nate Daugherty treated the students to lunch at the Capitol Visitors Center and then the students got the chance to meet with Senator Rockefeller, chat, and pose for a few pictures.

We feel strongly that the Take a Veteran to School program helps students and educators understand the importance of getting to know the veterans in their community. The West Virginia legislature passed resolutions earlier this year to commend Senator Rockefeller and WVCTA for their commitment to honoring WV veterans and encouraging WV educators to participate in future TAVTS events. We’re honored to help in the success of this program.