By Phyllis Coulter | The Pantagraph

The Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks changed the course of Adam Kinzinger’s life, leading him to serve as an Air Force pilot in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

In observance of Veterans Day, Kinzinger, now a 33-year-old Republican congressman from Manteno, returned Friday to Calvary Baptist Church, which attended when he lived in Normal. He talked to about 300 Calvary Christian Academy students about his unexpected career path and the significance of military service.

He told the students that when he sat in the same pews in high school and college listening to Veterans Day speeches, he didn’t expect he ever would be the speaker.

“I never expected I would stand up here and say I was in a war too,” said the congressman, who still serves as a captain in the Air National Guard.

The hourlong program included singing by kindergarten students, poetry readings and video tributes to veterans and the flag. It ended with a student playing taps.

After the program, Kinzinger said cuts being made to the defense budget are “devastating.”

He criticized what he said is an effort to cut defense spending when budgets are tight and then try to catch up later. “Consistency is needed,” he said.

Kinzinger joked with the students that there is always an emotional, patriotic film just before he speaks at such events. He said he’s an emotional guy and it gets him every time.

“The sacrifice veterans make does not end the day they take off the uniform,” he said, paying special tribute to Vietnam War veterans who were not welcomed home with the same honor and appreciation given to those, like himself, who served in other wars.

“I want to say thank you,” he said, nodding to veterans present.

He told students that this is their “Valley Forge moment.” Just as soldiers endured the cold winter of 1777-78 during the American Revolution to help win the nation’s independence, it is time for today’s youths to endure and build the future.

Kinzinger’s message on the meaning of wearing a uniform resonated with ninth-grader Rachel Smith.

When she got dressed for school Friday, she thought about what a special day it was and wore her Civil Air Patrol uniform. In a sea of more than 300 students, her uniform stood out.

“I plan on going to the Air Force,” said Smith, 14, who has volunteered for the last six months in the U.S. Air Force Auxiliary Civil Air Patrol.

Kinzinger also attended a Veterans Day assembly at Northpoint Elementary School in Bloomington, where his mother, Betty Jo Kinzinger, is a third-grade teacher.