GRAND HAVEN, Mich. — A display honoring Grand Haven High School graduates who have answered the call of duty will soon be unveiled.
The Buccaneer Wall of Honor was fundraised by a group of six graduates from 2022 who had taken a “Pay It Forward” class their senior year.
“The goal of that is to be, to give them kind of an opportunity to see their community in a little bit of a different way – to expose them to some of the tough sides of the community,” said Grand Haven High history teacher Brian Williams – often known as “Bdubs.” “One of the people that they actually had the opportunity to visit was a veteran who came in and talked about some of his experiences, and that may have led to a little bit of an inspiration as well.”
One of their final assignments was something that couldn’t be done in a classroom.
“Bdubs said, ‘K, your last project is you need to do something,’” 2022 graduate Amelia Segroves explained. “As someone who always needs a guideline, I'm like, ‘What does that mean?’ He was like, ‘Just do something, as long as it's making a difference.’”
Along with the help of Bryce Wert and four other fellow grads, that “difference” soon became a tribute to servicemembers.
“I felt like we could do more in the school to honor them,” Segroves said. “Not that we weren't doing anything, but I just thought we could be doing more.”
“We had quite a few from our graduating class that went to the services,” Wert added. “I think we had two in the Coast Guard, and then a couple of Marines, so we thought it'd be super cool to have them included in this as well.”
Williams estimates about $10,000 was raised for the honor wall.
“There are so many people that were so generous with their money and their time and their help and everything,” Segroves said. “It was definitely a team effort to put this together.”
Four American flags hang above seals from different branches of the U.S. military at the Grand Haven High School Rotunda.
Williams said he’s proud to see how his class helped lead students on a path to better their community.
“This is something that that we'll have for the rest of our life – something that we created,” he said. “In terms of a teacher, student – even like a friend relationship, it kind of creates a pretty unique bond that we're able to create something special for our community.”
The official unveiling is set for Wednesday, June 21 at Grand Haven High School at 11 a.m.
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