Abilene ISD wall to honor veterans draws a warm response on a chilly day
It was 81 degrees Thursday, which was fine for an event outdoors.
But the event was scheduled for Friday morning.
A wind-driven, almost 40-degree drop in temperature chased the dedication ceremony for the AISD Veterans Memorial Wall inside Dyess Elementary School. That did not change the spirit of the celebration, and those who wanted to see the granite wall located near the nose of an F-4D Phantom on campus did so afterward.
There, they viewed the first 77 names of students and Abilene ISD employees _ and five who were both - who represent four military branches and the Army Reserve National Guard, and are now deceased.
William Oscar Senter served in World War II, Korea and Vietnam.
The largest group of veterans named on the wall represent World War II (33). Eleven each served in Vietnam and Iraq.
The first listed on the wall is Bobby Joe Avery, who was in the Army. The last, listed alphabetically, is Billy Nealy Yarbrough, who was in the Navy.
As family and friends submit more names in the years ahead, those will be add. Parkhill architect Bill Noonan, wearing a long green coat, said there is plenty of room at the campus park to add more granite pieces.
Military connections
The dedication was planned for Veterans Day, and the event inside featured a fifth-grade honor choir, each student wearing a Dyess Jets T-shirt.
Speakers included new Dyess Principal Janaye Wideman, who comes from a military background, and Col. Joseph Kramer, the current Dyess Air Force Base commander and 7th Bomb Wing commander.
Abilene ISD Superintendent David Young said was the military that brought his family to Abilene in 1980. His father was a tanker pilot assigned duty at Dyess.
Attending was the family of Sgt. Reuben Marcus Fernandez, a 2004 Cooper High graduate who was killed Oct. 11, 2008, in Iraq.
His name was submitted when the school district was considering new names for four campuses to remove those tied to the Civil War era. Fernandez's name was not chosen.
On Friday, Young explained why. There were many submissions to honor those who served, he said, and it seemed best to honor all and not perhaps just one. That discussion led to the wall concept.
"We are excited about the wall," said Aurora Fernandez, mother of the soldier who was killed in action.
She was there Friday, noting her daughter also graduated from Cooper, in 2006. Family members wore T-shirts honoring Fernandez, who, at 22, died when his vehicle struck an IED. He has enlisted in the Army after high school.
His mother said a plan is in the works to erect a statue of Fernandez at the Dyess park. So far, $20,000 of the estimated cost of $60,000 has been raised. She said Hardin-Simmons sculptor Steve Neves, who has created the majority of outdoor sculptures downtown, is involved in the project.
Aurora Fernandez said Veterans Day is a day to remember her son. As the family does on Memorial Day, and his birthday. And the day he died.
"But we remember him ever day," she said. "On these days, it's more painful."
Sitting nearby was a cousin, Tristan, who is a second-grader at Dyess Elementary.
He heard Wideman say that veterans, past and present, "go beyond the call of duty every day.
"Thank you for your service to our nation."
What was said
The dedication ceremony includes presentation of colors by the Junior ROTC unit from Cooper High School and songs by the Dyess Elementary youngsters led by Alan Jones, including "God Bless America."
Former longtime Dyess Elementary principal Mike Newton was among those attending, it was noted.
Young and Kramer noted the partnership between the school district and the base that totals 4,500 in the service and about 14,000 living here who are "military connected."
Kramer those being remembered Friday signed on to serve for various reasons, including following in family footsteps, simple patriotism and seeking opportunity in life.
But they did so, too, because service presents "a higher purpose greater than themselves." And that makes the United States the most secure and prosperous nation in the world.
"Veterans," Kramer said, "thank you for serving our great nation."
Three days after the mid-term election, Kramer noted those in the military "serve the nation's citizens," and not one political party or another.
Young said the wall project has been two years in the making. There was no better place to place the wall than on the Dyess campus.
"We are blessed by their service to our country," he said of veterans connected to the school district.
The ceremony concluded with Jay Lester, executive director of fine arts in the AISD, playing "Taps" on the trumpet.
The nomination form for the wall can be found at abileneisd.org.
AISD Veterans Memorial Wall
Names: 77, three of which are female (Odessa Marie Caver, Jennifer Christine Hunter, Ginna Robley Kender)
Breakdown: 51 students, 21 employees and five who were students and employees
Represented: Army (40), Navy (13), Air Force (11), Marine Corps (10), Army Reserve National Guard (2), multi-branch (1, Danny Charles Wallace, Army and Navy)
Schools: Abilene High (35), Abilene Colored School (13), Cooper High (9), Americanization School (5), Woodson High School (1)
Killed in action: 10
This article originally appeared on Abilene Reporter-News: Abilene ISD wall to honor veterans draws warm response on a chilly day
