Rows of school children wearing red, white and blue sat on the Peru Washington School gym floor before a man in army fatigues.
Chris Kerasotes is a sophomore at the University of Illinois where he’s in the ROTC. Though he is closer in age to the students, his heart is in the same place as the Peru Veteran’s Memorial Group at the Veteran’s Day service.
Kerasotes was the keynote speaker at Tuesday morning’s program. He says he joined the ROTC because of his family and patriotism and also so his siblings and friends wouldn’t have to experience war.
Kerasotes graduated from St. Bede Academy in 2012. He’s studying history and geography at U of I and will continue his military service after earning a Bachelor’s degree.
The Peru Veteran’s Memorial Group holds a service at Washington Park every year. The service was moved inside of the school due to the weather. Their next public military program will be for Pearl Harbor Day.1