To the veterans of the Southern Ute Veterans Association:

Thank you very much for coming to Animas Elementary of the Farmington Municipal Schools in Farmington, N.M.!

It was both touching and educational to listen about your years of service in both the U.S. Army and the Navy. Students and teachers were moved by your personal stories of serving your country and the Southern Ute Indian Tribe.

It was also powerful to hear Mr. Rod Grove describe the Utes defending their land and people in World War II before becoming U.S. citizens in 1924.

The Animas Elementary student body and staff will forever be moved by the meaning of all the folds of the flag as shown by the Southern Ute Veterans Association and read by Mr. Ronald Baker.

We are grateful to you for taking our school to a new level of consciousness and appreciation for our U.S. veterans and Native American veterans who served before they were U.S. citizens, and for the U.S. American flag, which represents our American people, country, veterans and U.S. Constitution.

Thank you also to the Southern Ute Tribe, which made this presentation possible.

Sincerely,

Judith L. Johnson, teacher

Animas Elementary

Farmington Municipal Schools