
A PHS MCJROTC Honor Guard underthe direction of Cadet MajorJennifer Leary presents the colors.
The Portage Exchange Club observed Veterans Day at its Nov. 7 breakfast meeting. Five cadets from the Portage High School (PHS) MCJROTC opened the meeting with the presentation of the colors.
The dining room of Miller’s Assisted Living was filled with Exchange Club members, veterans whom had been invited as their honored guests, the ROTC cadets and three Aylesworth fifth graders and their families.
President Peggy Berbesque welcomed everyone and thanked the veterans for their service. The servicemen, their branch of service and the number of years served were as follows: Major John Johnston, USMC, 43 years; Walt White, USMC/US Army, 24; Tom Pappas, USAF, 4; Paul Clifford, USN, 4; Joseph Such, USN, 36; LeRoy Huettner, USMC, 4; Joe Morales, US Army, 3; John Childress, US Army, 2; Ted Uzelac, Sr., US Army, 3; Ken “Doc” Coleman, USN/USMC, 4; Gerald Butch Dennis, US Army, 3; Jim Lynch, USMC, 8; Eugene Spradlin, US Army, 6; and Exchange Members, Chuck Coppess,USN, 4; Ed Gottschling, US Coast Guard, 18 months and US Naval Reserve; and Warren Lewis, USAF, 4.

Aylesworth fifth graders Brett Melton, Brooke Spradlin and Saige Walleske stand with Portage Exchange Club President Peggy Berbesque after reading their leeters to the veterans andthe Exchange Clubmembers.
Berbesque introduced the fifth grade students, Brooke Spradlin, Brett Melton and Saige Walleske, and explained that their letters to veterans had been selected to be read aloud from a group of over 50 letters submitted by Aylesworth fifth graders. Teacher Jessica Niebel assisted the club with this project.
Major John Johnston, senior instructor of the PHS MCJROTC shared service-related memorabilia he had brought with him. The artifacts included items from World War 1 to Iraq and Afghanistan. Uniforms, weapons, tools and other articles brought history alive as he described how each had been used.
The Portage Exchange Club meets every Wednesday at 7 a.m. at Miller’s Assisted Living Meeting room. For more information, call Peggy Berbesque at 219-762-2201 or visit . Moran, the co-chair of the facilities-oversight panel and a member of the orleans parish school board
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