In honor of Veteran's Day, Mrs. Lemmon's class had a special visitor. Mr. Karl Meyers is originally from Palmyra, PA near Hershey, PA, and was actually working for Hershey Chocolate Factory when he was drafted into the US Army at the age of 22 in 1964. Mr. Meyers served a total of 5 months in Vietnam. He was located in An Khe, Vietnam but fought in the Ia Drang battle, which is the battle that the movie "We Were Soldiers" commemorates. He was shot and wounded in the left heel and took a phosphorus mortar to the chest on November 17, 1965. Because of this he was awarded the purple heart, among other medals.
Mr. Meyers spoke to the students about how he contracted typhus fever from a mite off a rat and that he had a relapse when he returned stateside. When he returned to the US, he also explained how he was ignored at the airports and that no one welcomed him home, due to the controversial war, but he explained that it didn't bother him.
After being discharged from the military in February 1966, he went back to work for Hershey. Mr. Meyers explained how his dream was to become a state police officer and within 9 months of returning from Vietnam, he applied to the state police and became a photographer for the PA State Police, working later as a detective.
Since he earned a bachelor's degree through the G.I. Bill, his daughters encouraged him to get his emergency certification, and for the past 14 years he has been a substitute teacher for Spring Cove School District in Martinsburg, PA.
Thank you, Mrs. Lemmon, for giving your students this great experience, and a bigger "Thank You" to Mr. Meyers for his service to our country!
