FERRIDAY — A Styrofoam replica of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier was set up in Ferriday High School gym Friday with a wreath delicately placed in front.

The prop is part of FHS’s Veterans Day ceremony, which will take place 10 a.m. Monday in the gym. The event invites veterans and members of the public to come and listen to presentations from speakers and students.

Many of the students presenting have family members who are in the military, veterans or going into the military.

Meinyaun Smith, 14, has an uncle in the U.S. Navy and will give the welcome address. It’s a chance for her to express her appreciation to veterans, she said.

“I feel good about doing it so that they (veterans) know that I appreciate them for what they do,” Smith said.

Smith’s fellow freshman Lillionna Campbell, 14, is going to sing the national anthem. It’s something’s she’s done numerous times before for games and other events.

“I could sing it backwards,” Campbell said.

But this time the song, like Smith’s welcome, will help Campbell show her appreciation.

“I feel like it’s going to be something special because it’s not just singing the national anthem,” Campbell said. “I’m expressing my feelings of what they went through.”

The event will also feature National Guard Recruiter Theodore Schiele. History Department Chairperson and event organizer Robert Haskett Jr. said Schiele graduated from FHS in 1993.

The following year Schiele joined the Louisiana National Guard and eventually earned his master’s degree in management and leadership.

After the ceremony, veterans will be served brunch by students at a reception. The event will give students a chance to talk to veterans, many of who have attended the program year after year.

“A lot of the kids are familiar with them by seeing them,” Haskett said. “They just might not know their military history.”

Fourteen-year-old Branton Turner, who will be leading the ceremony’s opening prayer, plans to stay behind after the ceremony and talk to veterans.

“I can let them know that I’m thankful,” Turner said.

Haskett said he hopes the event will help broaden students’ horizons.

“I just want them to learn about the world which we live in now compared to what the world was 30, 40 years ago,” Haskett said. “I want them to understand what it takes and what it means to be a hero.”

Other school events:

-On Monday, Concordia Parish Academy of Math, Science and Technology students in grades Pre-K through first are invited to bring in pictures of veterans in their family.

-Copiah-Lincoln Community College will host “A Salute to Veterans” program at 11 a.m. Wednesday at the Nelson Multi-Purpose Room.