Remembering our fallen

From Sept. 22 through the 26 the Remember Our Fallen exhibit was shown in Central’s gym lobby. Remember Our Fallen was funded by Patriotic Productions and Bellevue University. It was brought to Central by the Central High School Foundation. The goal of this exhibit was to serve as a tribute the military personnel from Nebraska that have given their lives to protect the United States. “It’s an exhibit of all of the soldiers, sailors and airmen [all of the military personnel] that have given their lives from Neb. They do this with every state, but the exhibit here will be the ones specifically from Neb., so it really hits close to home,” said LTC Michael Melvin.

“The exhibit is a very meaningful thing. It allows us to say thank you to those who have sacrificed their lives for ours,” said Cadet Captain Connor Grossoehme. This exhibit consists of pictures and memorabilia for each of the fallen, which makes every piece of the exhibit unique in itself. On top of these aspects there was also a video that played throughout the exhibit.

Remember Our Fallen is compromised of individual components, but it is all tied together as a whole memorial. “It’s kind of like a bunch of families embracing memories right there in front of you. This exhibit allows you not to forget the person, to put a name to just a fallen soldier,” said Danielle Jorgenson, a senior cadet involved in organizing the event.

This exhibit included a remembrance ceremony on the first day that featured guest speakers and an honor guard of Central cadets. The 2014-2015 school year was the first time that Central hosted this event. Jorgenson said that she was looking forward to having classes going to the exhibit to learn and seeing their reaction when everything clicked, realizing how important the exhibit was. “It’s a way for us to honor those who have given their lives to allow us the freedoms that we have. I think it is important that young people get the opportunity to understand that freedom is not free; that there are people who die to ensure that they can do the things that they do,” said Melvin.

Not only is this exhibit a way for us to honor those who have sacrificed their lives for us, but it is also a way to remember that freedom is far from free. “There are a lot of people in this world that want to take our freedoms away and without people, like you see in the photographs that are willing to die to maintain that freedom, we won’t have it. People in this country tend to take their freedoms for granted. I’ve had the opportunity to be all over this world and I’ve seen a lot of different countries and a lot of different cultures; the rest of the world is not like this country,” added Melvin.

The Remember Our Fallen Exhibit was a way to give thanks to those who gave their lives, as well as a way to see them on a more personal level. It really emphasized the fact that the fallen are not only soldiers, but people as well. “The exhibit gives you an opportunity, to at least at some level, touch these people personally. You can put a face to names you may have heard or read in the newspaper. For me there’s two or three that I did know personally,” said Melvin.

The exhibit was mainly organized by a committee of student cadets that worked diligently to make everything run smoothly. From making posters, planning the floor layout and announcing the event these cadets fulfilled JROTC’s mission, which is to help young people to become better citizens. “JROTC teaches you things that you need for the real world, not just things that you need for college and above. It teaches you outside experience,” said Jorgenson. Helping to organize such an event as this exhibit not only exemplifies this standard, but also shows one of the positive impacts that this program has on Central.

“There are many countries where you don’t have the freedom to say what you want, where you don’t have the freedom to go to school where you want, if you even have the freedom to go to school. There is a lot of oppression in this world and the next generation needs to realize that without people like the fallen we will be just like the rest of the world,” said Melvin.