West

1a: (Lydia)  Welcome to the 2023 Veteran's Day Celebration Performance at Waverly Belmont. Tonight we will sing songs that honor the men and women who put their lives on the line to defend our freedom.

1b: (Barnes)  If there are any veterans in the building right now, would you please stand up? Let's all give a round of applause for these people who have risked so much for us.

1c: (Eleanor) In 1814, a young United States was again in a fight with the British. The outcome of this war would determine if the U.S. could make it as a nation.

1d: (Ruby) The British Navy had taken the capitol city, and had set it's sights on destroying a very important military post in the Baltimore Harbor called Ft. McHenry.

Rackoff

1e: (Aria) A young lawyer and amateur poet names Francis Scott Key had been sent to negotiate the release of an important American. He was being held as a prisoner on a British warship.

1f: (Owen) Mr. Key went out on a little boat to the ship, and he was successful in getting the British to release the prisoner. But then they said that before anyone could get off of the ship they would have to watch the British blow up Ft. McHenry with bombs and rockets.

1g: (Shirley) The battle lasted all night long. Explosion after explosion shook the fort, lighting up the night sky. But every blast proved that America would not be easily defeated.

1h: (Carmac) By the morning, the British has used up all their weapons to no effect. The American Flag was still waving proudly, and Ft. McHenry was miraculously intact.

1i: (Beck) Francis Scott Key wrote a poem about the experience that later became our national anthem. Please stand as the WB 3rd grade students sing it.