As we honor veterans, Powell High memorializes 13 alumni killed in war
A monument unveiled Thursday at Powell High School brought to reality a drive to honor 13 PHS students who have died in war.
Powell High teacher Rusty Smith and his neighbor Jim Hackworth led the effort to raise money for the monument, which was placed near the flag pole.
“These people have paid the ultimate price,” said Smith, a Powell native and an Air Force veteran, during an interview this summer about the campaign. A teacher at Powell High School for the better part of two decades, Smith wants to prove to his students that history is more than names on the page of a book.
“This is an example that freedom comes with a cost," he said.
“Some students really get it; some don’t. If they are kids of veterans or know someone in the military, they understand what it means. The ones that don’t have any connections are the ones that don’t get it.”
Names of those killed include two — Vernon Harris (Class of 1938) and Eugene Roop (1942) — in World War II; five in Korea — Brady Hatton (1949), Charles Nix (1951), Jack Amyx (maybe 1950), Robert Buckner (maybe 1947) and Paul Reed (maybe 1947); and six in Vietnam — Charles Reed (1965), Larry Barnard (1965), Lennis Gentry (1967), Ray Hankins (1968), David Marine (1969) and Tommy Higdon (1964).
A publisher of real estate publications by trade, Hackworth took on the job of raising money and securing a design for the monument.
Besides getting an early rendering of the memorial, Hackworth set up an account at First Horizon Bank and went into the community to try to secure corporate donations.
“This is a worthwhile project,” Hackworth said. “It’s all about service and sacrifice. It’s something significant for our community.”
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Powell High in Knoxville memorializes 13 alumni killed in war
