HOWARD — A special breakfast, a gym full of students, a band, and a speaker all played parts Friday morning in honoring those in the Knox County community who have served in the armed forces.
East Knox High School hosted the Knox County Veterans Breakfast where veterans and their families were treated to a meal and were later honored for their service. Ken Harbaugh, past president of Team Rubicon Global and a candidate for Congress in the OH-7 district, spoke to junior and senior high school students and the veterans in attendance.
Five rows of veterans – some even in uniform – represented four of the five military branches. The youngest amongst them – Miranda Rocko and Luke Irwin – will soon be joining the ranks of the armed forces. Miranda Rocko has enlisted with the Marines while Irwin joined the Army National Guard. Both are seniors at East Knox.
“I used to think college was the answer for me,” Rocko said about her decision to join the Marines once she started her senior year of high school. “My life goal has always been to help people and I feel like that was the best way to do it.”
Rocko was recognized during the Veterans Day assembly. Though she will start training while still in high school, Rocko will be granted leave to attend her graduation.
“My stepfather was in, my older brother was in. Now I’m in. Someone’s got to do it,” Irwin said.
Harbaugh not only spoke about his time as a Navy pilot, but also detailed his time as part of Team Rubicon Global, a disaster relief organization comprised of military veterans. Team Rubicon has provided relief after the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the typhoon that hit the Philippines in 2013, and even the tornado that hit Ashtabula earlier this week.
“The method to this model,” Harbaugh explained, “is that we have taken two problems – two growing problems in our society – and turned them into solutions for each other. On one hand, we an increasing number of disasters worldwide . . . and then you have a veteran population issue from the longest wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.”
Harbaugh said the organization combined those two problems and turned them into solutions, not only by finding a purpose for veterans after they leave the military, but also by assisting in disaster-stricken areas.
A flood in Longmont, Colorado, had the biggest impact on Harbaugh’s life when he realized that Team Rubicon was also helping to save the lives of veterans that found their way to the organization.
More information about Team Rubicon can be found at teamrubiconusa.org/.
