North Ridgeville Students Make Patriotic Journey to D.C.

Once Made Aware, Never Forget

By Barb Smith

The importance of Memorial Day, Veterans Day, stories about local veterans, including their own family members, and the sacrifice Gold Star families have made, should prove more impactful to 270 North Ridgeville 8th graders, since returning home Friday night, May 13, after a two-and-half day trip to Washington DC, jam-packed with fast-paced walking tours of our nation’s monuments, memorials, and museums. A tour of Flight 93 Memorial in Shanksville, Pa. on the ride home, and viewing the documentary, Flight 93, now has for the students, a clearer meaning of a day of infamy, September 11, 2001.

Thanks to the foresight of school counselor Mrs. Nicole Roth, and generosity of the administration, the Rangers had the good fortune of preparing for the trip since Veterans Day, 2021, by attending the Amherst Veterans Day program held annually at the Veterans Mural Wall, in nearby Amherst, Ohio. Here, artist Mike Sekletar’s images of WWII, Korean War, Vietnam War and War on Terror, towered over the crowd as they learned about the history of Lorain County’s contribution in defending our nation’s freedoms.

At noon, they walked the block behind the Mural to the Amherst Cinema, grabbed their lunch bags, and filled the seats. I introduced a panel of eight important local citizens, including military veterans, recruiters, and a Gold Star mother and an aunt, of two of our local boys whose images appear within, Sekletar’s, The War on Terror Mural. Students listened attentively as the guests answered their prepared questions.

In April, I was honored to be included as a chaperone. Friday, before the trip, I gave a Power Point presentation to the 8th graders emphasizing again, the role Lorain County’s citizens have made in our nation’s history, comparing Sekletar’s, Raising of the Flag on Iwo Jima, to the US Marine Corps War Memorial in, DC. “You will see the three spires of the US Air Force Memorial in DC. Not all people in the Air Force are pilots,” I said, as I showed them the image of Lorain’s own, A1C Eric Barnes, of Logistics Readiness Squadron, within the painting on the War on Terror mural, and that of CPO Gary Rehm, Jr. of Elyria, one of seven who lost his life, saving lives, during the tragic fate of the USS Fitzgerald, who like President JFK, is buried in Arlington.

On May 12, in DC, steps from the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Jim Hase of Nowak Tours, and our guide on Bus 1, introduced us to the name of Wm. H. Pitsenbarger, of Dayton, and his valorous story documented in the recent film, The Last Full Measure.

We took a rubbing of his name.

Also mentioned. were North Ridgeville’s fallen brothers, USMC LCpl Baldauf and US Army SSG. Gaylord Kerr, two of the 98 of Lorain County whose names appear both within Sekletar’s Reflections Mural, and at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial of Lorain County, also located in Amherst.

Students were impressed to learn the number of Ohioans who have contributed to our nation’s story, from seven Ohio presidents, to Maya Lin, architect of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, to seeing John Glen’s stone in Arlington, to our local heroes.

Colleen- “My great grandfather opened the gates at Mauthausen!”

Kailey- “I’m going to join the Marines Corps!”

The exemplary behavior the Rangers exhibited during this whirlwind tour is a tribute to parents and the staff of North Ridgeville Schools. “Best wishes to the Class of 2026, as you continue to explore the history of our young nation!”