WILMINGTON — Students in Diane Anderson’s and Jennifer Evans’ kindergarten classes at Holmes Elementary School recently spent part of their day visiting with local hero and Marine veteran Josh Sams.
Students gathered around Sams, their guest of honor, during their celebration and commemoration of Veterans Day — listening intently, asking questions, and putting life into perspective in a way that often times only the innocence of a child can do.
Evans explained to students that in part, “Veterans Day is a day when we honor heroes,” and as Sams spoke with students about his time of service, in the eyes of a child, Sams became bigger than life, prompting one student to ask Sams if he could, “fly like a superhero.”
Other students asked Sams if he’d been in a war or if he had ever jumped out of an airplane and were enamored by the hero among them. Sams graciously answered the many questions and shared some of his “Show and Tell” keepsakes of his time in the military — his Purple Heart, his helmet, and even a piece of the shrapnel that was taken from his leg.
The Wilmington community has continued to rally around Sams since it first heard news of that fateful day in Kajaki, Afghanistan when Sams stepped on an improvised explosive device (IED), which resulted in the loss of both legs, a broken arm and a broken pelvis.
Josh Sams is a United States Marine, and in the eyes of many, that does indeed make him a superhero.
Information for this article was provided by Diana Miller, who coordinates communications for several area schools.
