Special Delivery: Montmorency students surprise veterans with thank-you letters

STERLING – More than 50 Sauk Valley veterans got a surprise Thursday from some special guests.

Third grade students from Montmorency school in Rock Falls presented thank-you letters to local veterans during their monthly breakfast at the Whiteside County Senior Center in Sterling. They were joined by WCSC staff and volunteers, members of the Sterling police and fire departments, and representatives from local businesses and organizations.

The WCSC has been hosting the breakfasts since 2019 as a way for veterans to connect and learn about available resources. Montmorency Principal Megan Dillon said the students were invited by WCSC Executive Director Emily Hammer , whose mother, Dawn Hackbarth, is a third grade teacher at the school.

"I asked if her students would write letters to the veterans and it quickly turned into the whole school writing them letters," Hammer said. "It was, like, 140 letters they wrote. It's important for them to see things like this, because their grandparents, their aunts and uncles might have served or are serving. When you're a kid, you don't realize how important it is, and this is an awesome way to help show them."

Hammer read attending veterans' names while volunteers handed them American flag pins and thanked them for their service. Hammer also thanked Allure of Sterling, Citadel of Sterling, Beacon of Hope, Rock River Hospice, CGH , Lifescape, Sauk Valley Bank, Castor Home Nursing, Kroger, Ana's in Rock Falls and the Veteran's Compensation Group, who have supported the breakfast throughout the years.

Tom Schroeder from the Veteran's Compensation Group stopped by to update veterans on how they could apply for benefits and compensation for medical conditions resulting from exposure to toxic chemicals during their military careers.

"The PACT Act was signed in 2022 and makes it possible for veterans of the Vietnam War and the Gulf War to receive money and benefits if you were exposed to toxic chemicals," Schroeder said. "If you served in Vietnam, you were exposed to Agent Orange. There's no doubt about it. It affects you in a lot of ways and the thing is, it affects many people much later in life. So, if you were exposed to those things, give us a call or talk to me and we'll help you go through the filing process. It costs you nothing."

Veterans and their spouses meet for breakfast at 9 a.m. the second Thursday of the month at the WCSC, 1207 W. Ninth St. in Sterling. For information, call 815-622-9230.