THIS IS A PRESS RELEASE FROM THE OFFICE OF UNITED STATES SENATOR JAY ROCKEFELLER.

Clarksburg, W.Va. – Senator Jay Rockefeller today joined with Randy Pleva, a West Virginia veteran and national president of Paralyzed Veterans of America, for an historic event – “Take a Veteran to School Day” – to mark Veterans Day and honor the state’s 178,000 veterans.

“West Virginians have proudly and in great numbers served, and continue to serve, in our nation’s Armed Forces,” Rockefeller said. “We’re so proud of these men and women who represent the very best of our Mountain State. And that’s why it’s so important to connect our veterans with West Virginia’s young people – so they know the pivotal role veterans have played in the history and security of our state, our country, and the world.”

Rockefeller and Pleva addressed a group of juniors and seniors at Robert C. Byrd High School in Clarksburg and also took questions from the students. Journalism students from West Virginia University were also in attendance and are filming oral histories with West Virginia veterans, including Randy Pleva, for the Veterans History Project at the Library of Congress – which includes first-hand recollections from veterans.

“Take a Veteran to School Day” is a statewide educational awareness project and is being sponsored by the History Channel and the West Virginia Cable Television Association, led by local operator, Time Warner Cable. Rockefeller hopes this project will encourage more young people to be inspired to speak with veterans in their families and communities.

Rockefeller, the senior member of the Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs, has a long history of fighting to make sure veterans have the benefits, health care and support they need and earned by their service. In fact, the Department of Veterans Affairs invests nearly $1 billion in West Virginia each year in health care services and benefits for veterans. The Senator also hosts regular roundtables across West Virginia with veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan, and speaks frequently with veterans from previous wars, to discuss the issues they’re facing and how he can best serve them in Washington.

For more information on Take a Veteran to School Day, visit: www.veteransinwv.com. Also, any West Virginian can participate and submit an oral history of a veteran to the Library of Congress for its history project. Instructions and recommendations are available at the Library of Congress Web site: http://www.loc.gov/vets