Guardsman honors school from afar

Deployed to Afghanistan since February with the Wisconsin National Guard, Chris Beron found a way to honor his children — in fact the whole school — while serving overseas.

There, he’s serving on the Provincial Reconstruction Team in the Kunar Province during the 12-month deployment, his wife Colleen Beron said.

On Sept. 5, for the first day of school, Chris Beron had an American flag flown on the base in Afghanistan in honor of Four Corners Elementary School.

“He sent the flag home to our children, Presley Beron and Trenton Beron, along with a certificate dedicating the flag to Four Corners School,” Colleen Beron said. “Presley and Trenton were proud to give their school principal, Mr. Jarnis, the flag on behalf of their father.”

The flag and certificate were presented to Four Corners Principal Jack Jarnis on Nov. 29.

“Presley and Trenton are very proud of their dad and were so excited to give this special gift to Four Corners,” Colleen Beron said.

And Jarnis was proud to accept the gift on behalf of the school.

“We are very pleased with Mr. Beron’s thoughtfulness in having this Operation Enduring Freedom Flag dedicated to Four Corners Elementary,” Jarnis said. “We are having the flag placed in a flag-box so we can properly display it and the certificate in our school trophy case.

“Our community is very aware of the dedication of the members of our community serving overseas and the impact deployment can have on our families.”

In fact, last year, a representative from the Wisconsin National Guard Service Member Support Division, Child and Youth Program presented a short training for staff at Four Corners to inform them of the typical deployment cycle — what might be some indications of separation anxiety, and what teachers and schools can do to support students with deployed parents, Jarnis said.

“The gift of this flag is a positive reminder of the great responsibility our service personnel have taken on for all of us and a reminder they are from our own community and families,” Jarnis said.

Tags: news, education, military, family, travel