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<p>KINGSTON &#8212; Three generations sat at the table sharing the history of military service.</p><p>Milton Piper, retired U.S. Army Master Sergeant who admitted he was stationed &#8220;in so many places&#8221; he couldn&#8217;t name them all. Current Army Specialist Raymond Piper. And Kelly Piper, the Middle School Student who spent hours helping make breakfast for dad, granddad and some 30 other veterans.</p><p>After nearly an hour of serving to others, Kelly sat down with her family, but seemed to lack any fixings. Did she eat breakfast?</p><p>&#8220;I ate at home,&#8221; The Wyoming Valley West Middle School student smiled. Does that mean she doesn&#8217;t like the food she and a dozen other students helped prepare?</p><p>Kelly demurs, but grand-mom Raymone is quick to answer as she finishes her portion. &#8220;The quiche is <em>delicious</em>!&#8221;</p><p>Middle School Students pull out a a lot of stops for the Veterans Day commemoration. Vets entered the building to a brass band on the first floor, were welcomed by students eagerly handing out red, white and blue wristbands, and escorted to the family and consumer science classroom in the basement, to be greeted again with live music, this time from a 14-member string ensemble.</p><p>Along with seating in the room between appliances and counter tops, a neighboring classroom had been patriotically re-purposed as a dining hall, tables and chairs set up rows with stars a stripes all around.</p><p>&#8220;It feels good to show thanks to them,&#8221; Justin Bozek said as he and two other students manned the serving station, dishing out quiche and sausages. The feast included fresh sliced fruit, bagels, pastry and juice.</p><p>Class teacher Lori Tillger beamed and took every opportunity to praise her volunteer students for all the time they put into the breakfast, but that was only part of the event. The students had also launched a last minute fund drive for the Sneakers for Soldiers campaign that provides athletic shoes to deployed combat troops. They only had four days, but they managed to raise about $3,000.</p><p>&#8220;Students were coming in with $100 bills, with $200 checks from grandparents,&#8221; Tillger said. &#8220;I&#8217;m so proud of them!&#8221;</p><p>Forty Fort Mayor Andy Tuzinski said he came not only as a veteran from the Navy, Navy Reserve and National Guard, but as an alumnus. &#8220;I love coming back to my alma mater,&#8221; he said, &#8220;It&#8217;s nice to see the kids showing so much respect.&#8221;</p><p>Tom Petroski talked about how he has lived in the area his whole life, chatted about his time in the U.S. Navy and shook hands with other veterans and visitors. Asked how old he was he laughed.</p><p>&#8220;You don&#8217;t need to know that,&#8221; he said, turning to the uniformed honor guard sitting at the nearby table. &#8220;I&#8221;m not as old as these guys!&#8221;</p><p>And what did he think of the breakfast? Petroski grinned and gave two enthusiastic thumbs up.</p><p>The honor guard had been among the first to arrive, and to leave, for good reason. They headed up to the auditorium to practice presenting colors for the following school assembly, before most of the students started arriving.</p><p>The event included well-known World War II Veteran Jim Walsh, a special dedication to George June Audi, the recently-deceased veteran and father of a teacher, and the reading of an award winning essay by eighth-grade student Baraa Kamal, a finalist in the Veterans Day Essay contest.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Sam Guarneri, Sal Alaimo, Tom Skrzysowski and Joe Sylvester enjoy breakfast at the Wyoming Valley West Middle School. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/web1_TTL110919WVWbreakfast1.jpg</photo0><caption0>Sam Guarneri, Sal Alaimo, Tom Skrzysowski and Joe Sylvester enjoy breakfast at the Wyoming Valley West Middle School. </caption0><photoCredit0>Aimee Dilger | Times Leader </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/web1_TTL110919WVWbreakfast3.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Cole Hospodar and Justin Bozek serve Tom Petroski at the Wyoming Valley West Middle School veterans breakfast.	 </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/web1_TTL110919WVWbreakfast3.jpg</photo1><caption1>Cole Hospodar and Justin Bozek serve Tom Petroski at the Wyoming Valley West Middle School veterans breakfast.	 </caption1><photoCredit1>Aimee Dilger | Times Leader </photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/web1_TTL110919WVWbreakfast2.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Sal Alaimo reads a card from a student at Wyoming Valley West Middle School. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/web1_TTL110919WVWbreakfast2.jpg</photo2><caption2>Sal Alaimo reads a card from a student at Wyoming Valley West Middle School. </caption2><photoCredit2>Aimee Dilger | Times Leader </photoCredit2></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/web1_TTL110919WVWbreakfast7.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">A card expresses thanks to a veteran for their service. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo3>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/web1_TTL110919WVWbreakfast7.jpg</photo3><caption3>A card expresses thanks to a veteran for their service. </caption3><photoCredit3>Aimee Dilger | Times Leader </photoCredit3></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/web1_TTL110919WVWbreakfast5.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">The Wyoming Valley West Middle School band plays in the foyer. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo4>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/web1_TTL110919WVWbreakfast5.jpg</photo4><caption4>The Wyoming Valley West Middle School band plays in the foyer. </caption4><photoCredit4>Aimee Dilger | Times Leader </photoCredit4></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/web1_TTL110919WVWbreakfast6.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">A fallen soldier table sits outside of the home economics room at Wyoming Valley West Middle School. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo5>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/web1_TTL110919WVWbreakfast6.jpg</photo5><caption5>A fallen soldier table sits outside of the home economics room at Wyoming Valley West Middle School. </caption5><photoCredit5>Aimee Dilger | Times Leader </photoCredit5></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/web1_TTL110919WVWbreakfast4.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Teacher Lori Tillger speaks to the family of her 8th grade student Kelly Piper, with Kelly is her father SPC Raymond Piper, Raymone Piper and MSG Milton Piper during the Wyoming Valley West veterans appreciation breakfast. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo6>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/web1_TTL110919WVWbreakfast4.jpg</photo6><caption6>Teacher Lori Tillger speaks to the family of her 8th grade student Kelly Piper, with Kelly is her father SPC Raymond Piper, Raymone Piper and MSG Milton Piper during the Wyoming Valley West veterans appreciation breakfast. </caption6><photoCredit6>Aimee Dilger | Times Leader </photoCredit6></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><subheadMeta>Veterans feted by WVW Middle school students</subheadMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Mark Guydish</p><p>mguydish@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Mark Guydish at 570-991-6112 or on Twitter @TLMarkGuydish</p></shirttailMeta></div>