PINELLAS PARK, Fla. — The 6^th annual Wounded Warriors Alive Ride may have been rained out Wednesday but there was no stopping students at a Pinellas Park elementary school from showering the veterans with praise. 

Skyview Elementary School welcomed back an alumnus and unveiled a monument in their honor.

In 2006, Mike Delancey was wounded while serving overseas and became paralyzed. 

The students let their gratitude overflow with chants and reciting the pledge of allegiance for the wounded warrior veterans visiting their campus.

A statue of the school's mascot the bald eagle has been in the works since March 2020. 

It was finally unveiled and dedicated to all veterans including Delancey. 

"Oh this is Awesome, considering I actually went to school here as a child,” Delancey said.

The recognition comes a day after the end of the U.S. war in Afghanistan where Delancey completed his first tour. He then went onto Iraq where he was wounded. 

"I was shot by a sniper that left me paralyzed from the chest down," he said.

Their annual alive ride was canceled due to weather but the impromptu pep rally was the morale boost they needed, Delancey said.

"We got that local support that we love,” Delancey said. "And that type of stuff is very heartwarming."