Veterans’ breakfast returns to South Meadow School in Peterborough

The annual veterans’ breakfast at South Meadow School in Peterborough returned for the first time since 2019, when it was curtailed due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.

This year, 78 seventh-grade students participated, sending out letters to 88 local veterans, many of whom attended the breakfast Thursday morning.

“I think it’s wonderful,” said Virginia Moore, who served as a medic in the Air Force. “It gives such a sense of community for area veterans.” She added that it was a great way to expose younger students to a different era.

Moore was sitting at a table with fellow Air Force members Karrisa and Greg Ulrich, their daughter Keira and South Meadow School students Sienna McKay, Ethan Ardine and Hayden Monkeon.

Sienna asked Karrisa Ulrich if she knew she wanted to serve in the Air Force from a young age. Karrisa said that she was obsessed with the movie “Top Gun,” and wanted to fly fighter planes. At the time, there were no female fighter pilots, and she was told she was too short to join as a pilot. She ended up as a critical care nurse on what she described as a “flying ICU,” which had space for two to four soldiers in need of critical care. She explained that treating these patients in the air was more challenging than on land, as the plane’s altitude had different effects on the human body.

Sienna also asked Karrisa if she would do it again if she had the chance. Karrisa replied that while it was a great experience, it was hard to be in the military with children and a husband who is also in the service. Greg Ulrich, a fighter pilot, noted that he had served since 1998 to present.