Eighth Graders at SJHS Remember Past Relatives

ll the eighth graders at SJHS got the opportunity to see the Vietnam Traveling Memorial Wall.  Students arrived in Spanish Fork on September 10th to view the wall.  As students arrived, a helper told the students that this memorial was to honor the soldiers who had died to save our freedom.

Leah Morales, an eighth grader at SJHS said, “As soon as I glimpsed the wall it was the most beautiful thing I have ever seen!” She also said, "Those people who sacrificed their lives for freedom--that was a great responsibility.”

Off to the side of the wall was a service tent. There, students were able to look up their relatives’ names and find them on the wall. Many students had luck in finding their missing relatives, and were able to copy their names from the wall. “I couldn’t believe that there were 58,195 names on the wall. I was sad but amazed at how many people sacrificed their lives for us, so that we could have a free country,” said Mr. Greg Shields, U.S. History teacher at SJHS.

Students were able to learn more about the wall by viewing it and learning more about the memorial and how many people died to keep our freedom. Students also learned that the names that have sketched diamonds by them are the names of soldiers whose bodies have been returned to U.S. soil. But the names that have crosses are the names of soldiers who are still missing in action.

Mr. Shields said, “I think that it is important for all people, students included, to see the wall.”