Letters

My husband and I have been in our home for 58 years and paying taxes to the Sag Harbor School District. We had four children and one grandchild graduate from Pierson High School.

We were so shocked and disappointed to read in The Express about the 45 senior students of Pierson High School who committed a criminal act in our high school by breaking and entering the school building on June 13 and doing considerable damage to the property [“Pierson Students Vandalize School As Part Of Senior Prank,” 27east.com, June 22]. But the most difficult to understand was the disrespect to the American flag.

This is not acceptable at all. These students were expected to graduate from Pierson in a short time after the crime was committed.

I believe the students must have slept through their history classes. They should read about how, in 1776, Sag Harbor was occupied by British soldiers, how our soldiers were fighting in Sag Harbor for our independence from England during the Revolutionary War. Our homes were occupied by the British solders. Half the people fled to Connecticut; if they did not swear an oath to King George, they were made prisoners of war.

We had the Meigs Raid on Long Beach, where Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan Meigs left New Haven, Connecticut, on May 22, 1777, with 234 men in 13 small boats bound for Sag Harbor. They made their way to Noyac and crept into Sag Harbor along Brick Kiln Road. They captured two British soldiers and were led to the British stronghold. They invaded the British fort on Union Street. They captured 90 British officers and soldiers at the James Howell Tavern (present day American Hotel). There were six British soldiers killed, but no Americans. They returned to Connecticut with 90 prisoners and were awarded a thank you letter from President George Washington.

To the high school students who committed this crime of breaking and entering our high school, the American flag represents all our 50 states and our freedoms we have today, thanks to the courage of our veterans from all our wars — including the Revolutionary War in Sag Harbor.

Kathy Miller

Sag Harbor