St. Dominic sixth-, seventh- and eighth-graders recently held a question-and-answer session with local veterans at Marian Hall.
The March 27 event, sponsored by the North Catholic Alumni Association, was originally scheduled for Catholic Schools Week, but was postponed due to snow. The makeup date was timely, taking place two days before National Vietnam War Veterans Day.
Principal Christopher Pugliese was in attendance.
Jim Cirillo, a North Catholic graduate who served in the U.S. Army from 1969-75 and has been a St. Dominic parishioner for 53 years, opened the event by asking St. Dominic and St. Francis de Sales to pray for all on hand. The Oblates of St. Francis de Sales operated North Catholic, which closed in 2010, and administer Father Judge.
Veterans brought a variety of items, including combat boots, helmets, medals, dog tags, books and pictures.
Frank Dougherty, a North Catholic graduate who served in the Army from 1964-66, was a longtime Philadelphia Daily News reporter. While he largely wrote about SEPTA as The Phantom Rider, he also produced a special section chronicling 630 Philadelphians killed in the Vietnam War. Dougherty brought a copy of the section, which was published on Oct. 26, 1987 to coincide with the dedication of the Philadelphia Vietnam War Memorial.
Eighth-grader Cadence Groomes led students and veterans in singing Lee Greenwood’s God Bless the USA and Kate Smith’s God Bless America, as students waved American flags and videos of the songs played. ••
