Armed forces service members stood tall at Veterans Day Appreciation at RMS

Service membes stand to be recognized while the RMS chorus and band performed a medley of service amthems on Thursday at Rochester Middle School (Rochester Voice photos)

ROCHESTER - Temika Lyman of Rochester, who attended Rochester Middle School as a youngster, came back to her alma mater on Thursday to deliver the keynote address for the school's annual celebration of veterans the day before Veterans Day.
Lyman, who joined the Air Force Junior ROTC in 2015 and now serves at Pease Air Force Base, told a crowd of about 300 veterans and those honoring them that it was the furthest thing from her mind to join up when a friend convinced her to listen to an orientation at RMS seven years ago.

Air Force service member Temika Lyman delivers Thursday's keynote address at RMS.

"I wasn't interested at all, I wanted to go to UNH, but they convinced me to check it out and I fell in love with it," Lyman said.
Four years later she was selected Group Commander of the Spaulding High AFJROTC and received a 2019 scholarship from Rochester's American Legion Post 7.

FULL THROATED SUPPORT: Members of the RMS chorus sing a medley of service anthems during Thursday's Day of Appreciation of veterans.

She explained there were a lot of reasons that drew her in to the AFJROTC program.
"I found I needed a place where I had a sense of belonging, where I could feel secure, where someone had my back," she said. "It was the best decision I ever made."
Looking out at the crowd of veterans assembled on foldout chairs and high in the bleachers, she said a veteran can be defined by what they give of themselves.
"A veteran is someone who answers the call," Lyman said. "Someone who does the honorable thing when no one is watching. Who gives of themselves."
During the pandemic Lyman worked at a vaccine call-in center lining people up for scheduled vaccinations as promptly as possible.
"It was a way I could give back to help my country," she said.
After the assembly was over veterans were invited to the RMS cafeteria for refreshments and snacks where Air Force veteran Tom Martineau of Union said Lyman was a great role model for students to emulate.
"I'm excited to talk to her," Martineau said. "I served 19 years at Pease after three and half years of active duty."
During the assembly veterans were treated to a rousing medley of service anthems performed by the RMS band and chorus. During each anthem service members stood to be recognized for their sacrifice and service.
The RMS AV team also produced a couple of videos that explored the Coast Guard station in New Castle, the Portsmouth Harbor Lighthouse and the former Fort McClary in Kittery Point, Maine.
Rochester's Veterans Day observance will be held at the Rochester Common today at 11 a.m.