In the fall of 2017, we were approached by the administration at Lebanon High School in Lebanon, Ohio to work on a Veteran’s Roll Call Honor Wall to recognize their alumni who went on to serve in the United States Military. Before diving into Lebanon High Schools final product, it’s vital to understand more about the historic city of Lebanon and what this kind of display means for the school.
Lebanon is one of the oldest cities in Ohio with the first log cabins appearing in the 1790s, even before Ohio was adopted as a state in 1803. The City of Lebanon has a rich American political history with 13 presidents visiting the city in their lifetime. Ulysses S. Grant was the first president to visit the area as a teenager in 1839 and Donald Trump recently became only the second sitting president to visit.
The first formal Lebanon High School was created in 1853, but it was not until 1868 that Lebanon High School had their first 3 graduates, all female. We do not expect any names from the Civil War to appear on the Veteran’s Roll Call Honor Wall as technically there were no high school graduates, but certainly many local citizens participated in the conflict.
In addition to their long military history, Lebanon also has the distinct honor to have Army Colonel Gordon Ray Roberts, Medal of Honor Recipient, on their alumni roster. His bravery in the Vietnam war was recognized so a special section on the board was requested to highlight him receiving the military’s highest recognition.
Unfortunately, Lebanon High School has seen a share of KIA and MIA service members, so a specific section has been set aside to recognize those alumni.
Lebanon High School’s Honor Wall
When it came to the design of the military recognition display, the primary focus was providing enough space to accommodate the large number of past military service members while still allowing room for the inclusion of any future service members.
Lebanon High School did not have a current list of all their military alumni, but they did have a motivated team with the resources to find and gather the appropriate information. Local recruiting offices have been contacted, yearbooks are being searched, and the community has come together to submit the names of the men and women who have served.
The decision was made to install the military recognition board prior to gathering the information. The goal was to build interest around their efforts and help get the word out that they wanted the community to be involved. The drive to gather the names of the service members ends mid-December 2018. All the information gathered up to that point will be added to the display prior to the return of staff and students from winter break.
We were honored to be considered and selected to produce this project for Lebanon High School and we look forward to getting the first set of names up this December. If you or anyone you know might be able to help with the wall and contribute names and information, please follow the link below.