Elk City High School students are planning a special candle-lighting ceremony honoring war veterans next Wednesday, Nov. 11 at 10:45 a.m. The ceremony is to be held at the Pioneer Center auditorium. The public, and especially all veterans, are invited to attend.
The special program will honor all veterans, and will especially honor 118 soldiers and sailors from the Elk City area who lost their lives while serving their country in the line of duty from as far back as the Spanish-American war.
That list of names was researched and compiled by Elk City High School history teacher Kevin Black, who says that he wanted to help give students the opportunity to honor the veterans, and especially those who gave their lives in service.
Part of the ceremony will include something that is actually taking place outside the high school in a field to the north. Students are planning and building a mini-replica of Arlington Cemetery, complete with white crosses laid out neatly in uniform rows with the name of each fallen soldier on a cross.
Following the ceremony in the auditorium, guests will be invited to visit the mini-replica cemetery to view the memorial built by the students.
"This is the students' project, really," Black said. "Almost every class is participating in some way, from art classes and special education classes to math classes that are laying out the plots for the placement of the crosses, and even a special tool built by the Ag department to help us plant the crosses. Almost the whole school is involved in one way or another, and I'm really proud of how the students have volunteered and worked on it. Mr. Lewallen, the high school principal has been very supportive of the effort, and we appreciate that."
The VFW is combining its ceremony with the high school ceremony this year, replacing its usual service at the City's beautiful Veteran's memorial at Fairlawn Cemetery in order to lend its support to the students' efforts.
"We're happy to combine our ceremony with the high school," said VFW Assistant Post Commander Herman Green. "It's great that the kids are doing this, and we hope all our veterans will turn out to enjoy this ceremony with them."
Special recognition will also be given during the ceremony to all returning Iraq and Afghanistan veterans at the ceremony.
Please mark your calendar: Wednesday, Nov. 11, 10:45 a.m. at the Pioneer Center Auditorium.