Recently, there’s been a lot of controversy about America’s public education system. Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin was elected, in part, because he promised to make sure parents have more oversight of the education of their children. In Iowa, a terrible bill calling for live-feed video cameras in all classrooms was recently defeated. I understand the many justified concerns about public education in America, but I would encourage you, faithful reader, to remember that, despite some problems, our nation’s 130,000-plus schools are also full of some fantastic teachers.
One of the best teachers is Mr. Shaun Kelly, who teaches music, piano, and strings at a local elementary school. Mr. Kelly has his students learning everything from opera to John Philip Sousa marches to Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon. Around Veterans Day, he teaches the children all about our national anthem and the songs for each branch of our military.
His patriotism and dedication to service began long before he arrived in the classroom. Shaun Kelly served in our military in various capacities for over 20 years. Serving as an Aerographer’s Mate in the Navy from 1985 to 1993, he traveled the world monitoring and reporting on weather patterns. A few years after leaving the Navy for college, Kelly reenlisted in the Navy reserve.
In 2004, Kelly’s friend told him about an opening in the Washington Army National Guard band. Kelly played a bunch of instruments, so he went to audition.
“I went from Navy blue to Army green,” Kelly said proudly. It was quite an adjustment. He had to learn new uniforms and protocols. He had to attend Army leadership schools and learn land navigation. But he did it all because the WAARNG band combined Kelly’s inclination toward service with his deep love of music.
Of course, the first decade of this century was a demanding time for our military. With campaigns in both Afghanistan and Iraq, all service members were busy. In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, with so many combat and military police units already deployed, Kelly’s Army band was sent to establish security in flood-devastated New Orleans. The waters receded and the looting over, they were assigned to prevent residents from returning to the neighborhoods until after special units had time to remove the bodies of flood victims. It was clear, as Kelly told me this, that the memory of the sights and smells still bothers him.
Fortunately, most of his duty was far more pleasant. The WAARNG band played everything from large concerts to small ensembles at Memorial and Veterans Day events. It played in Olympia for the governor’s ball and the state Legislature.
“The best moments were playing for the troops coming home,” Kelly said. In 2008, deployed units were returning to Washington so frequently that the WAARNG band remained on call.
Kelly would receive a phone call at 0200. “Get in uniform. A unit’s coming home.”
Kelly’s band had a big job, playing Sousa’s The Stars and Stripes Forever or Lee Greenwood’s God Bless the USA for homecomings at Joint Base Lewis-McChord on the western side of Washington and Fairchild Air Force Base in the east.
Washington’s a big state, and the constant back-and-forth was tough. But Staff Sgt. Shaun Kelly didn’t mind. “Watching the reactions of [the soldiers’] families as we played for them was probably the most inspirational thing that made me stay in as long as I did.”
Welcoming homecomings mean a lot to returning soldiers and their families. Mr. Kelly understands that. And having subbed in Mr. Kelly’s school, I can easily see he understands the importance of his continuing service in the classroom. He’s one of the best in a country with millions of great teachers. We’re all working together for the best for our children, and there’s always room for improvement, but in our efforts to improve our schools, we must remember our many wonderful teachers — especially the great Americans like Staff Sgt. Shaun Kelly.
*Some names and call signs in this story may have been changed due to operational security or privacy concerns. Trent Reedy served as a combat engineer in the Iowa National Guard from 1999 to 2005, including a tour of duty in Afghanistan.
