On Wednesday, several members of the Valley Grande Exchange Club handed out flags to second- and fifth-graders at Valley Grande Elementary School.

The adults told the students a little about how to care for the flag and what it means.

We’ve forgotten a lot about those basic lessons in these days of Facebook, Twitter, television news with screaming heads and fast living.

In school, much like these children of Valley Grande Elementary School, we learned that the general, George Washington, lead an army beholden to him like a father and suffered cold and hunger to battle the British, who would have taxed our ancestors way too much to fill the banks of England for a crazy king.

What some of us didn’t learn until much later were the stories of those who fought under Washington. And, many of us were surprised to find out why they fought. Here’s something from a history, from an American lieutenant at Bunker Hill:

“I was a Shoemaker, & got my living by my Labor. When this Rebellion came on, I saw some of my Neighbors got into Commission, who were no better than myself. I was very ambitious & did not like to see those Men above me. I offered to enlist upon having a Lieutenants Commission; which I was granted. I imagined my self now in a way of Promotion: if I was killed in Battle, there would be an end of me, but if any Captain was killed, I should rise in Rank, & should still have a Chance to rise higher. These Sir! Were the only Motive of my entering into the Service; for as to the Dispute between Great Britain & the Colonies, I know nothing of it…”

This particular soldier survived the war, although he was captured by the British twice and escaped. After the war, his only notoriety was saving eight people from drowning after their boat turned over in New York harbor.

Today is Veterans Day. We know the names of the generals — Patton, McArthur, Eisenhower, Clark, Abrams, Westmoreland. What our children, standing there reciting the pledge do not know are many of the stories of the people who went to fight because they needed the work, the extra pay, or to better themselves or because they were drafted. These people continue to be the backbone of any military.