NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Why did they have turkey on the first Thanksgiving?
Because they couldn't find any chicken.
Sgt. 1st Class Michael McCarron told that joke to the students and staff of Brayton Elementary School as they gathered Monday morning for the school's annual celebration and awards presentation. This year the event included a presentation to and from McCarron, who returned from his fourth tour overseas with the Army Reserve, and it includes a lot of smiles and laughter.
But McCarron's connection to Brayton is as personal and serious as it gets: His wife, Marie, is a fourth-grade teacher at the school, and last year's first-graders were involved in a community service project that involved sending care packages and letters to McCarron's unit in Afghanistan.
"They did an amazing thing last year," McCarron, an instructor at McCann Technical School, said in thanking the now-second-graders, who stood throughout his talk to be recognized.
McCarron said he was "very surprised" last year when he started receiving gifts from the students.
They sent us letters, boxes full of goodies ... candy and all the stuff that makes your teeth fall out," he said, eliciting more laughter from the students. "I took the letters and I passed them out through the battalion headquarters. And, they wrote back, didn't they?"
And not only did the soldiers write back to the students, the chain continued with the students back home in North Adams.
"What was amazing was when they wrote back, you guys wrote back to them again ... by name. Everybody got a letter. I thought that was truly amazing," he said. "They thought that was fantastic, that that was an amazing thing.
"And then we got more boxes. I was like, what am I going to do with all these boxes of stuff? But everybody got something. It was fantastic."
To thank the students and the school for their support, McCarron brought a gift with him: a flag that had flown over his unit in Afghanistan, folded and framed with a signed certificate of authenticity that reads that it is "presented to Brayton Elementary School first grade."
"I'm sorry I couldn't put all your names on it. There wasn't enough room," he said.
McCarron also urged the students to set high aspirations for their futures.
"Set goals for yourself, really high goals. And you'll reach them. You can do that. Because I've learned that everything you see that happens to people, the people that win win the World Series, the Super Bowl and all that stuff ... they are just like you," he said. "I want you all to set goals for yourself. Can you do that? And be thankful for everything you have."
It was no coincidence that McCarron gave the flag to principal John Franzoni as his thank you gift this week, in the days leading up to Thanksgiving,
"Thanksgiving is very very special. I have a lot to be thankful for. Because I'm home," he said. "We should be really thankful for everything we have. We live in a world that is really really special here. There's no place like in the world like the United States where we live. I've been overseas four times and I've been to some very very dangerous places, where the kids in those places, a lot of them don't go to school, and they don't have clothes like you, they don't have a lot of stuff that you have.
"So we have to be thankful. And that's what Thanksgiving is all about."
Franzoni echoed the sentiment that this week in particular is a time to reflect on the true meaning of the holiday, not just on the days off from school.
"It's important to think why we have these days off," he said. "Take time to thank you to the people who are important to you."
The students did a good job of thanking McCarron — and all other veterans. Some read inspirational quotes from people like John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King about freedom, some sang or played an instrument, while still others read personal notes that they had written to McCarron himself or other veterans.
"Dear Mr. McCarron, thank you so much for serving. You're very brave for doing this. You risked your life to protect us. So thank you for keeping us safe," one student read.
"Dear veterans, thank you for fighting for our lives and risking yours for our safety. I wish all the veterans out there good luck and be strong," read another.
"Dear Mr. McCarron, thank you for serving our country and keeping us safe. We all thank you very much and we wouldn't be in a good world without you," another student read.
And in the most personal thank you, the fourth-graders — led by Marie McCarron in honor of her husband — lined up on stage, each with a letter spelling out "SFC MCCARRON VETERAN." The students went down the line listing off what each letter stood for. One of the "Cs" was for "courageous" and another for "cool and calm." An "A" was for "always putting us before yourself" and the "E" was for "the excitement we feel to have you here at Brayton Elementary."
And what about the last three letters of veteran?
"T is for thanks. Thank you for fighting for our country's safety."
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