Southmoreland High unveils display honoring district military veterans

Glen E. Nicholson peered for a few moments at the contents of a shadow box displayed on a wall of the Southmoreland High School student union.

He soon found what he was looking for: a dog tag inscribed with the name of his son and fellow Army veteran, Glen S. Nicholson.

“It’s pretty amazing,” the elder Nicholson said of the school’s new Wall of Honor.

Nicholson was among hundreds of people, many of them veterans, who came to the school on Veterans Day to witness the official unveiling of the display that lists the names of veterans and active service members who have attended the East Huntingdon school or one of its predecessors.

“We’ve honored all the branches of service and paid respect to POWs and those who have not come home,” said Daniel Clara, assistant to the district superintendent. “It’s been a real labor of love for us.”

The student union was an apt choice for the display, Clara said.

“It’s a location that’s central to the school, so the students can see the history of those who served and are serving,” he said. “It’s a way to show respect for those who served and gave so much. This is their space.”

Each veteran who is included in the display will have a dog tag engraved with their name and placed in a shadow box designated for the branch of the military in which they served, including the latest branch, the Space Force. Also, each name is shown in succession on a video screen.

“There are 223 names on that wall, and we’ve received at least 50 more submissions in the last week,” said Jim Williams, a 1984 Southmoreland graduate who served in the Air Force and is chairman of Veterans for the Park. The Scottdale-based nonprofit has supported the Wall of Honor project through funding and working with the district to verify the service records and alumnus status of names proposed for the display.

“We want to make it as inclusive as possible,” Williams said of the name listing. If a family is unable to locate military documents for a veteran, “We’ll even accept a photo of the person in uniform during their time of service,” he said.

Students at the high school and at the Central Westmoreland Career and Technology Center took roles in the project. They designed signage and graphics, with woodworking students creating the shadow boxes and fashioning wall paneling by staining strips taken from pallets.

Local Vietnam veteran and artist David Mates added to the display a flag-inspired wall hanging made from salvaged wood.

The display’s rustic look reflects the largely rural community, Williams said.

“We’re a farming community with some industry,” he said. “We’re not a big city. You definitely see that in the display.”

Veterans of the Park also has provided an accompanying table display with symbolic elements that honor service members who are missing in action or were held as prisoners of war.

According to Williams, the cost of the display was covered by donations, with no tax dollars involved.

“The community has really been supportive of our veterans programs,” he said.

District Superintendent Jason Boone said the next planned phase of the project is to make the display interactive, so that students and visitors can call up more detailed information for each of the honored veterans.

Many of those involved in planning the wall are hoping students will be able to interview veterans and reference their stories in the display.

“The whole idea is for the students to be able to ask questions about the names, the time period, and everything that’s gone on to get to that point,” Williams said.

“I think it’s good for the educational community to sort of match up with the veterans,” said Bob Percy, an Army veteran who retired in 1991 as a Southmoreland history and social studies teacher.