Most Jupiter High students know Mr. Richard Sciacca for his success teaching AICE International History and AP World History, but prior to teaching, Sciacca served in the United States Army as First Lieutenant and Platoon Leader. In honor of Veteran’s Day on November 11, he shared some of his experiences.

“My job [as First Lieutenant] was pretty much to make sure that the guys under my command were trained enough for the various tasks we might encounter on a mission,” said Sciacca.

Although he held a leadership position, Sciacca was never sent into combat. To this day, he is thankful he never had to see his fellow soldiers get seriously injured or die on the battlefield.

“My unit was on the call-up list for the Gulf War. However, we never had to go to war because of the quick collapse of Saddam Hussein’s army,” said Sciacca. “I realized how fortunate I was to never have to watch anybody get hurt or killed.”

While Sciacca believes he was fortunate to not get deployed, his time in the army was not easy. Sciacca said the hardest job he had was his mission to clean up after Hurricane Andrew in August of 1992.

“In the aftermath of Hurricane Andrew, we had to sift through rubble and try to help people. Our job was to try to provide people with food and water,” said Sciacca. “It was a mess.”

As a result of his time in the military, Sciacca has strong feelings about Veteran’s Day and about who should be honored. Each year, Sciacca and his family (his wife and two children) attend a recognition ceremony to honor veterans; he especially enjoys getting his 14-year-old son involved in the commemoration.

“To me, Veteran’s Day is about honor,” said Sciacca . “It’s about honoring all those who served…especially those who made that ultimate sacrifice, those who have been wounded, and those who had to deal with the psychological stuff, the trauma.”