DEARBORN, Mich. – Edsel Ford High School in Dearborn carried out an annual tradition Thursday, honoring former students who have died fighting for our country.
"I walked out of there and I knew a lot more and I was happy that I could live in a country where we're free," sophomore Carter Conover said.
"They were just like us," sophomore Sarah Pertee said. “They came from the same school. They went to the same classrooms."
It was a dark a somber memorial service for 23 fallen former Edsel Ford High School students. One by one their photos were shown and stories of how they died in service were read aloud in an all-school assembly.
"It was kind of putting me in their position,” Pertee said. “Hearing who they were and a little bit about them. It kind of made me understand who they were as a person."
Pertee, Carter and their other classmates each carried a single flower to represent the fallen former students. The flowers were laid in front a memorial and a plaque listing each student’s name that's permanently displayed at the school.
"It was very emotional actually," Dearborn Public Schools Superintendent Glenn Maleyko said. "I was watching the honor guards and you could see that they were so appreciative that they were being recognized and honored and I felt the emotion by just looking at them along with just looking at the slides."
This honorable tradition has been going on at the high school for the past 19 years and will continue not just in memory of former graduates, but anyone who has fought and died for our freedom. Similar memorials were held at Dearborn and Fordson high schools as well.