Memorial Day Tribute: Arlington National Cemetery With a Clover Park Twist

They stood in solemn white rows on a lush green lawn. More than 6,000 in all, each bearing a name, each sharing a single purpose to remember the fallen.

The staff and students at Clover Park High School spent two days setting up a miniature replica of Arlington National Cemetery with wooden stakes bearing the name of every U.S. serviceperson killed since 2001 in the Iraq and Afganistan wars.

The service-learning project, which began in 2008, has evolved into a school-wide tradition.

“It’s pretty impressive,” said Vice Principal Cynthia Adams. “A lot more kids are getting involved and a lot more kids are having conversations about what it means.”

Humanities teacher David Russell, who organized the project, said that he started it to teach students about Memorial Day.

“Being a veteran myself, I felt that there was a need for our students to understand the meaning,” said Russell, who served in the first Gulf War.

However, while the meaning of the holiday may have been unknown to some, these kids are no strangers to war.

“There’s a lot of emotion,” Adams said. “We have kids who have known someone who was over there who was brought back because they were killed–uncles, aunts, sisters and brothers.

“It really impacts the community — very few kids here have not been impacted.”

Russell felt similarly.

“We serve many military families and some of them have a lost a father or a brother,” he said. “We, in the Clover Park School District, have a strong (connection) to our military families and this memorial helps all aspects of the community.”

As the sun went down — and the rain began to fall — Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps (JROTC) students hosted a march in honor of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Six wreaths symbolized the honor, instead of the traditional two.

Lt. Col. Gary Roberts, who teaches JROTC at the school, said that the students took turns in the Changing of the Guard because “standing on the concrete with the rifle; it gets heavy.”

“Since my kids haven’t trained for that, we just say we’ll do that a little bit at a time.”

Junior Matthew Nadeau, one of the cadets who volunteered to guard the school’s representation of the tomb, said that the project is more than just an assignment. He was one of the students who initially suggested that segment of the project last year.

“It means that we honor our military,” he said. “And we’re proud to do it.”

Nadeau said that his father knew some of the soldiers whose names and dates of death stood out in dark lettering on the white stakes.

“I was born and raised around the military, so every time I hear or see a soldier die, that’s real.”

This year, 1,400 new white stakes were added to the lawn. Students began putting them up at noon on Wednesday, and finished shortly before 2 p.m. Thursday.

“We’re running out of space on the lawn,” Russell said with a hint of emotion. “We can all hope that things start to go better and we don’t lose so many of our soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines. They’re all out there.”

Although the stakes were grouped by year — each 2 1/2 feet apart — they were far more than just names, Adams said.

Late in the afternoon, a servicewoman driving by the school noticed the display and, caught off-guard, stopped to investigate. It turned out that she had lost her husband in 2010.

“She had a lot of questions about what it was for and asked ‘How did you choose each one of these?’" Adams said, choking back tears. “We didn’t choose them. They were chosen.”

Adams said that the young widow had difficulty finding her husband’s stake, and sought help. Not only did a group of uniformed JROTC cadets walk her to the right spot, but they escorted her back to her car afterward.

“It was pretty moving,” Adams said. “There’s a face behind each name.”

The display will remain until Tuesday, when students will pack everything up. By the end of Memorial Day weekend, flowers, cards and photos will have been added to the lawn. Everything is stored in Principal John Seaton’s office, and organizers are thinking about doing a display next year.

“This is to teach the kids what Memorial Day is about,” Roberts said. “It’s not a day off from school, (but) on TV, they’re advertising it as ‘Where are you going on vacation?’ We just want to bring it home to the kids.”