Costa Mesa teacher honored by VFW for his promotion of patriotism
Teacher Patrick DeVusser encourages his class of 30 11-year-olds at Kaiser Elementary School in Costa Mesa to stand still and focus on each word as they say the Pledge of Allegiance each morning.
That dedication to patriotism helped the 67-year-old Navy veteran win the Veterans of Foreign Wars’ Smart/Maher VFW National Citizenship Education Teacher Award for the elementary school level in California.
The award honors teachers who promote civic responsibility and national pride.
In class on Wednesday, the 75th anniversary of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor that drew the United States into World War II, DeVusser’s fifth-graders used a magazine with child-friendly information about Pearl Harbor as he told them of the event’s historical significance and the ultimate resolution of the war in the Pacific.
Though his students haven’t lived through monumental days in American history such as Pearl Harbor or the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, DeVusser believes they are important for them to acknowledge.
“I try to express to them that without those days in history we wouldn’t be where we’re at right now as far as being a free nation … as far as being a nation able to allow free speech, freedom of expression of ideas, freedom of religion and the right to bear arms,” DeVusser said. “Without the sacrifices made all the way back to the Civil War … without the vigilance of our military and our armed forces, we wouldn’t be the same nation.”
Members of the VFW surprised DeVusser with the award at Kaiser Elementary in October.
That day, DeVusser said, he was so focused on getting his students lined up with the other classes for the morning flag raising that he almost didn’t notice the three men in suits wearing VFW caps. Then he began to wonder why they were there.
“I didn’t connect the dots,” said DeVusser, who has taught at Kaiser for three years and before that for 10 years at Whittier Elementary School in Costa Mesa. “I didn’t think it was anything connected to me.”
But the VFW members came ready to give DeVusser his plaque in front of the whole school.
DeVusser was nominated for the award by Robert Foster, a crossing guard at Kaiser and a member of VFW Post 9557 in Fountain Valley.
Kaiser Principal Deborah Granger wrote a letter of recommendation to go with the nomination.
“Patrick steps up and serves colleagues as well as the school at large,” Granger wrote in an email to the Daily Pilot. “He makes a point of teaching students about the reasons they get a day off for Veterans Day and another for Memorial Day. [He] has flags positioned around his classroom in such a fashion that they continually wave in the breeze of the ventilation system.”
Lynn Rolf III, director of programs for the VFW of the United States, based in Kansas City, Mo., said the award is about “teaching citizenship, certain wartime periods, how our country was born and bringing veterans in the classroom. It’s the whole curriculum ... that goes above and beyond what their local school board asks.”
DeVusser didn’t win the VFW teacher award at the national level, but he said he doesn’t do what he does for any award or other recognition.
“I’m the one who waves the flag on the appropriate days and encourages others to remember Veterans Day and Memorial Day,” DeVusser said. “I do that because those were values I was raised with.”
DeVusser served in the Navy from 1969 to 1972, during the Vietnam War.
A brother served in the Air Force and another in the Navy. His father served during World War II.
After DeVusser’s military service, he worked for 30 years in the electronics, computers and medical imaging industries before returning to school to earn his teaching credentials and a master’s degree in education.
Twitter: @AlexandraChan10
