The banners have been displayed for years at Central High School in Knoxville, Tennessee, a small tribute to alumni who had given so much to preserve freedom in World War II.
The two banners include 49 stars with names sewn meticulously on the fabric of all the young graduates from Central who had lost their lives in one of the most destructive wars in human history.
What Were Their Stories?
Russell Bazemore serves as the instructor of Central’s Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (JROTC). Bazemore, a retired Navy captain, had examined the banners, which hang at the back of the JROTC classroom, wondering what stories lie behind those names. What lives did these young men lead? What had they done at Central before being shipped off to battlefields in Europe and the Pacific?
Bazemore had an idea – finding out would make for a great history project for his junior cadets…