In the fall of 2022, veterans in our learning community and district administration met to discuss how we might recognize our graduates who have chosen the path of service upon leaving our schools. These conversations led to the development of a vision and a plan to honor our veterans through the establishment of the Scottie Wall of Honor, which will be housed in our High School Student Union for our students and the community to visit.

Through the generosity of our Veterans for the Park group, our project began with a POW/MIA table, which is adorned with the required pieces. Details regarding the symbolic representations for those items may be found here. 

The Scottie Wall of Honor was completed in November of 2023 by students from our high school and our Central Westmoreland Career and Technology Center. A pallet wall is the base for six shadow boxes. Each box represents a branch of our armed forces (Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard and Space Force). For each of those boxes, the Veterans for the Park has graciously provided dog tags that honor our graduates and their branch of service. This wall is also the home to a piece of art designed by veteran Mr. David Mates.  

On November 11, 2023, the Wall of Honor was unveiled at a ceremony that included local representatives, families and friends, and  most especially, our veterans. Please click here to watch the ceremony. This short clip shows the completed wall.

 
Veterans, current service members and families of service members who would like to recognize a graduate who serves or has served in our military should complete the Southmoreland Wall of Honor Nomination Form. Upon verification of service, the Veterans for the Park will order the creation of the dog tag and then we will place it in the service box so that it may be seen by students and visitors alike. Our future plans include the establishment of an interactive collection of interviews from our veterans that will be collected by our students. 

An article about the construction of the wall in the Independent-Observer may be found here.

An article about the unveiling of the wall may be found here. 

Should you have questions or wish to support this program, you may direct your emails to Dr. Daniel Clara, Assistant to the  Superintendent, at clarad@southmoreland.net or the Veterans for the Park at Veteransforthepark2022@gmail.com.