The Leo High School choir, recently made famous by America's Got Talent, performed at the South Side school this morning as part of a special Veterans Day ceremony.

"The Star Spangled Banner" made the men in attendance proud of their country, and listening to the collective voices of the choir made them proud of their alma mater.

"Word-renowned Leo Choir, who just did a pretty doggone good job on 'America's Got Talent,'" mused James Lewandowski, Vietnam War veteran, who also sang in the Leo glee club back in his day. "I sang bass. I was singing right along with them, and I still hit the notes!"

Every alum in the room did some reminiscing Monday.

"He was the airborne guy. He's one of those crazy people that jumps out of planes," said Rich Venkus, Vietnam War veteran. "I was Air Force. I was in planes, but there's no way I'm jumping out of them."

Venkus joined the Air Force before he even graduated.

"I was in Alaska. I was in Texas. A couple days in the Philippines," he said.

Many in the room are Vietnam War veterans, not an uncommon distinction for Leo High School alums.

"I do believe it does [have a long history of service]," Lewandowski said. "If you could look at some of the plaques on the wall, you could see how many men who died in World War II, in the Korean War, the Vietnam War, Desert Storm and all wars following."

Every year, the vets return to their alma mater right before Veterans Day to honor their school and their classmates who served. Seventy-five of the Leo graduates who served in the military gave everything, including their lives.

The names of the lost were read aloud before a special wreath-laying ceremony as Leo men, past and present, shared one room and a legacy that makes them proud.