On Veterans Day, Upper Schoolers gathered in Brauer Auditorium for our annual assembly to thank those who have faithfully served our country. Our Upper School choirs, led by US Choir Teacher Dana Self, sang the National Anthem, and then Head of School Jay Rainey welcomed the students and our distinguished guests.
He said, “Veterans Day, which is observed as a federal holiday today was originally known as Armistice Day to salute all honorably discharged military veterans of the United States Armed Forces. The first Armistice Day was established by President Woodrow Wilson in 1919 to commemorate the end of major World War I hostilities the prior year at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month. Armistice Day was renamed Veterans Day in June 1954 through a law by President Dwight D. Eisenhower. This change was proposed by a World War II veteran to expand the scope of the holiday to honor all veterans, not only those who served in World War I.
In past years, MICDS held a Memorial Day assembly in the spring. By shifting the ceremony to the fall, we are expanding our remembrance to salute all veterans associated with our school.”
He then asked all veterans to stand and be recognized, followed by the family members of those currently serving or who have served. Mr. Rainey then welcomed Turner Holthaus ’07, our guest speaker.
After graduating from MICDS, Holthaus attended the United States Military Academy at West Point and earned a degree in Economics. Following graduation from West Point in 2011, he served in the US Army as a Military Intelligence Officer, achieving the rank of Captain before leaving the service after five years of active duty.
During his time in the Army, he served in various locations, including two combat tours to Afghanistan. As a Military Intelligence Officer, he spent his time in tactical units, where he started as a Human Intelligence Platoon leader and then as a Multifunctional Team Leader supporting US and Foreign special operations. Holthaus’ awards include the Bronze Star Medal, the Army Commendation Medal, the Army Achievement Medal, the Afghanistan Campaign Medal, and the Global War on Terror Service Medal.
Following an honorable discharge, Holthaus earned an MBA from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Sloan School of Business. Post-graduation, he worked for five years for JP Morgan’s investment bank in New York. Today, he works at a boutique investment bank in Fort Worth, Texas. He was joined at the assembly by his wife, KC Stahlhuth Holthaus ’07, and their two children, Paige and Carter.
Here are Holthaus’ remarks:
It’s truly an honor to be here today, on Veterans Day, standing before you as the keynote speaker and a graduate. As Mr. Rainey said, I’m Turner Holthaus, MICDS class of 2007, and it feels like yesterday I was sitting in your seat, but if I do the math of how many years it’s actually been since I graduated, I start to feel dizzy.
I’m thrilled to be back here today with my wife, KC, who was also a 2007 grad, along with our kids, Paige and Carter, and some great friends, classmates, and teachers.
Before I get into my speech, I’d like to thank all veterans for their service; it’s because of you we are able to enjoy the freedoms we hold so dear. It’s truly an honor to be part of that community. As I prepared this speech, I couldn’t help but think back to my own time sitting in this room. I tried to stay awake during chapel, balance homework, sports, and hanging out with friends. I forged amazing friendships and have incredibly positive memories from my time at MICDS. I had great mentors, advisors (shoutout to Coach Coco for putting up with me for four years), teachers, and coaches. The lessons I learned around teamwork, leadership, and mental and physical toughness outside the classroom, playing football and lacrosse, helped shape and prepare me for my future.
I never imagined that a small moment—a simple message from my counselor at seventh-grade sleepaway camp—would end up shaping my life and ultimately leading me here. It was Tuesday, September 11, 2001. I was at seventh-grade sleepaway camp—camp TNT (not sure if it’s still called that?)—when a counselor took me aside and told me that my half-brother and uncle were okay and I shouldn’t panic. I was confused; I didn’t understand why they were telling me this until I returned to the dining hall with the rest of the class, and the counselors explained what had happened in New York. That day, in that unexpected moment, my desire to serve was born. Given I was so young, I didn’t know what serving meant, but something in me that day changed.
Fast forwarding to today, I’d like to talk about service and hopefully impart a few lessons that I learned along my journey. Service isn’t just about joining the military. It’s about stepping up in any field, whether it’s in healthcare, education, non-profit work, or something else. But for me, the events of 9/11 sparked a deep desire to challenge myself to be in the best position to serve others. This desire ultimately led me to the United States Military Academy at West Point. During my high school years, I focused on my goal of getting into West Point. I was driven, but I wouldn’t have succeeded without this amazing community. Teachers, mentors, and friends here helped me keep my eyes on that goal.
To put it lightly, West Point was a serious wake-up call for me. I reported to “Beast Barracks,” which is West Point’s boot camp, on July 2, 2007. Needless to say, I did not get to enjoy a long break after my MICDS graduation. Day 1 at Beast Barracks, they lined us up, told us we had 60 seconds to say goodbye to our parents, and then marched us off, and our lives changed forever. They shaved our heads, taught us how to march, and issued us everything we would need. If it wasn’t issued to you, you didn’t need it. Our egos were quickly checked. I distinctly remember my squad leader, who was an upperclassman in charge of us during basic training, tell us that everything we had accomplished during high school, all of our accolades, our awards, our distinctions, meant nothing, and we had to re-prove ourselves. This was a hard reality. Everything I had worked for, everything I associated with my identity, was now extinct. I had to regain the trust and respect of everyone around me.
West Point was an incredible, challenging experience. I studied economics and finance and even spent a semester in France, which I like to joke was the best semester at West Point—because I wasn’t actually there! But, in all seriousness, the training, discipline, and dedication needed at West Point were intense. During my time there, we were in the Global War on Terror, and there was effectively a 100% chance you were getting deployed upon graduation to go defend this nation. Almost weekly, for my four years there, we would get an announcement that another graduate had been killed during combat operations…it quickly made you realize you were part of something greater than yourself.
Upon graduation, I was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant Military Intelligence Officer, a branch of the Army that perfectly combined the mental and physical challenges I was looking for. Shortly after my initial training, I joined the 163rd Military Intelligence Battalion at Fort Hood, Texas. Then, before I had the chance to unpack, I was told I’d be deploying to Afghanistan to join my unit already downrange in a highly kinetic area.
Although it wasn’t a shock that I would be deploying, and I had months and months of classroom and field training, there is nothing that can prepare you for going to war. Just like in high school football and lacrosse, you can practice until exhaustion, work on every skill until it’s complete muscle memory, but until it’s the real game, you will always have the fear of the unknown.
There I was, a brand-new, clean-shaven Second Lieutenant—pretty green and suddenly in charge of a platoon of soldiers with experience and grit. I had to earn their respect and learn fast, adapting to a challenging and often unpredictable environment. The focus wasn’t on me but on how I could help my soldiers succeed and accomplish the mission together. I learned that leadership isn’t about always having the answer but knowing how to bring out the best in everyone around you.
After returning from my first deployment, I was selected to lead Multi-Functional Team 2—known as “Team Ghost”—an 11-man team tasked with human intelligence, signals intelligence, and counterintelligence. Our primary mission, working with our Tier 1 Special Operations unit, was to find, fix, and neutralize high-value targets. Preparing for my second deployment as MFT 2’s team leader, I had to start fresh, adapting to a whole new environment, working with a new team, and building trust from scratch. During that 10-and-a-half-month deployment, I learned that teamwork and trust are absolutely critical. Putting this in perspective, six years before this deployment I was sitting in your exact seat, worrying about how much Coach was going to make us run, the homework I hadn’t done that was due the next day, and who I could hang out with during my free period…now, at age 24, making a mistake could lead to a fatal end, affecting me, my men, and potentially the larger national defense mission. Every action we took had to be deliberate, and there was no room for ego or error.
My experiences in the Army helped shape who I am today, and one of the most impactful parts was due to the friends I made, the team I joined, and the supportive network I gained. It’s an incredible community of men and women who will forever have a place in my success. Although these fellow veterans all had a different reason for why they chose to serve, we were all in it together, serving on this nation’s greatest team.
After serving my five years in the Army, I left in 2016 to pursue my MBA at MIT. Eventually, I joined JP Morgan in New York and later moved to Texas to work at a boutique corporate Mergers and Acquisitions firm. Although I started from scratch in each new environment, the lessons I learned in the Army helped me add value, regardless of the job.
So, what does all of this mean for you? There are a few themes I want to share. First, every experience is an opportunity to learn, and every person has something valuable to contribute if you take the time to understand them. Building relationships, adapting, and learning from others are the keys to success, no matter where you are. One of the pivotal lessons I learned in the Army is that the best leaders were once the greatest followers. Have the ability to humble yourself and learn from every opportunity.
Second, I realize almost none of you will remember what I said here today, and I don’t blame you nor hold it against you. BUT, if there’s one thing I want you to take away from this speech of mine, it’s this: DO NOT underestimate the power of moments that might seem small. You never know what might inspire you to pursue a new direction. For me, it was that one message during seventh-grade camp that set me on my path to service. Take time to pay attention to what excites you, what drives you, and how you can make a difference.
Lastly, I’m nothing special. I was once a student sitting right here, trying my best to do well in class and figure out my place in the world. MICDS provided me with a supportive environment that helped me build the skills and relationships that allowed me to accomplish my goals. And it’s that love for this community, for the people, and the shared experiences here that made me want to serve in the first place. I wanted to do everything I could to protect and preserve what I love about this country.
Thank you for listening, and thank you for the honor of speaking to you today. I encourage each of you to find your own path of service, whatever that may be. It might not always be clear at first, but it will be worth it.
Thank you.
Mr. Rainey then asked Grace Coppel ’25 and Jacob Daus ’25 to come to the stage to share their personal reflections. Coppel’s brother and Daus’ stepfather both served in the military, and the seniors took a few moments to share their thoughts and feelings about their loved ones’ service.
Mr. Rainey returned to the podium and said, “Today we gather in honor of the hundreds of Country Day, Mary Institute, and MICDS alumni, faculty, and staff—past and present—who have proudly worn the uniforms of America’s Armed Forces. These men and women have served with distinction throughout the world, in times of war and in times of peace.
As has been a tradition at our Memorial Day assembly, we will now take time to remember the 33 members of our community who died in service to our country during World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. Some were just a few years older than you are now. 26 perished in World War II alone, including four of the 36 graduates of the Class of 1941—the equivalent of 17 members of this year’s senior class.”
Recognizing the sacrifice of people to whom our shared history connects us helps to personalize our understanding of military actions which otherwise may feel very remote and long ago. As their photos and names are displayed, please keep in mind that they, like you, made friends in school, and thrived in some of their classes and struggled in others, and stressed about assessments, and sometimes, I’m sure, would gaze out the classroom window, thinking about an upcoming game or performance, or wondering what life after graduation had in store for them. They would ultimately sacrifice their dreams and aspirations so that members of future generations might realize theirs.”
Today, we honor those whom we have lost—just as we honor all those who have served—with humility, gratitude, pride, and respect. Please join me in a moment of silence.”
Coppel and Daus then read the names of our distinguished alumni and faculty who gave what President Lincoln called the “last full measure of devotion” to their country. A full list of names and a brief description of our fallen heroes is available here.
The Upper School Choirs concluded the gathering by singing a medley of My Country Tis of Thee and America The Beautiful. Special thanks go to Cliff Saxton ’64 and Peter Griffin ’69, our St. Louis Country Day School Archivists, for creating and displaying the history boards for the lobby of Brauer Auditorium before and after the assembly. Our students enjoyed learning more about the history of our School.
Thank you, veterans, for your service.