White Plains High School honors military veterans at inaugural breakfast
Several military veterans joined a group of White Plains High School students Thursday morning for a special breakfast honoring their service and giving them an opportunity to share their personal stories with a younger generation.
The gathering in the school’s Media Center, held the day after Veterans Day, marked the first such event at WPHS, with plans to make it an annual tradition that will bring even more vets into the school community.
“I felt that it was important for our Tigers to be able to connect with those that have served our country and to really highlight Veterans Day,” said Principal Emerly Martinez, who organized the event with Assistant Principal Gaetano Vitiello and National Honor Society adviser Jennifer Stein.
They reached out to Frank Williams Jr., Executive Director of the White Plains Youth Bureau, and the Veterans of Foreign Wars to invite participants. Students who were interested in military careers, along with those volunteering for community service, joined the gathering.
Mr. Williams was accompanied by Herbert Strobert, a Marine Corps veteran who served aboard the aircraft carrier USS America off the coast of Vietnam from 1971 to 1974. He mentioned his son, who served eight years in the Marines, including deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan.
“Thank God he came home,” Mr. Strobert said.
Two current White Plains City School District employees were among the vets at the event, including Sam Rizzio, a math teacher at Rochambeau Alternative High School who joined the Navy Reserve in 1990 while pursuing his ambition of attending the U.S. Naval Academy.
Although he ultimately did not attend Annapolis due to changes in the program, he fulfilled his Reserve commitment while studying at the University of Houston. Ten days after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, he reenlisted, serving until September 2003 and leaving as a sonar technician second class.
“I loved every nanosecond serving,” said Mr. Rizzio, who served aboard the frigates USS Pruett and USS Doyle. He recalled the demanding and sometimes dangerous conditions aboard Navy ships, but emphasized the camaraderie that helped sailors persevere.
“You’re never doing anything alone,” he said. “You’re always with a group of your shipmates picking you up when you’re weak, and getting you through things.”
The discipline and teamwork he learned in the Navy have also helped him as an educator. He said several former students have joined the military after hearing about his experiences, including one who later returned to visit him while serving aboard a Navy cruiser stationed in San Diego.
WPHS Concert Band Director Kathryn Davis also reflected on her Navy service, which began after she had already established herself as a teacher. Inspired partly by her father, a Coast Guard photographer, she joined the Navy as a musician, serving with the Pacific Fleet Band at Pearl Harbor from 1992 to 1998 and the Atlantic Fleet Band in Norfolk, Virginia, from 1998 to 2003.
She credited her military experience with strengthening her musical abilities and helping her contribute to the WPHS marching band. Looking back on her years in uniform, she said, “I would never have ever changed anything about it.”
Air Force veteran John Reidy described a military career that included 11 years flying aboard B-52 bombers as an electronic warfare officer and navigator and later serving as an air liaison officer with the Army’s 82nd Airborne Division.
His assignments took him to Bosnia on a peacekeeping mission, South Korea, Afghanistan and Kuwait. He recalled his time in Bosnia with particular pride because of the opportunity to help maintain peace.
“That was probably one of the best assignments that I ever did,” the Air Force Academy graduate said.
Also in attendance was Wallace Mciver, whose relatives served in the military.
The breakfast resonated with students considering military careers, including senior Mili Paredes, whose sister, Gisselle, a 2025 WPHS graduate, recently completed Marine Corps boot camp at Parris Island. Mili hopes to join the Army and eventually become a police officer, and she appreciated the opportunity to speak with veterans about what inspired them to serve.
“I think it’s really honorable for the school to do this because I don’t think this is something that every district would do,” she said. “And it’s really nice to have other kids, as well, interact with them.”
Mr. Martinez also shared his connection to the military. As a high school student, he enlisted in the Army’s delayed entry program, intending to become a medical technician after graduation. His plans changed during his senior year when he discovered his calling to become a teacher.
Although he never served on active duty, Mr.Martinez said the experience and his family’s military connections gave him a deep appreciation for those who wear the uniform.
“Military service is something that’s certainly near and dear to my heart,” he said. “And I hope that our Tigers here today see the value and the importance of connecting with those that have served our country.”
Senior Karim Hammami, president of the Student Government Organization, expressed the students’ gratitude, thanking the veterans for their honorable service.
“I know we talk a lot in history class about freedom and bravery, but you guys are truly the embodiment of freedom and bravery,” he said, recognizing their contributions to peace and security both in the United States and abroad.
