By Stephanie Lauritzen

Cottonwood-Holladay - Fifteen years ago, Butler Middle School media specialist Jennifer Van Haaften wanted to find a way for students and their families to honor their loved ones serving in the U.S. Armed Forces.  With the help of the student body, she created a Wall of Honor at the school, where the Butler Middle community could submit the names of friends, family and neighbors to be recorded on bricks of paper and hung in the school’s common area.

The tradition continued this year,  with the school honoring veterans by  “posting the name of each veteran, the branch of service, years of service, name of the conflict or war during which the veteran served, and the name of the person submitting and the relationship,” Van Haaften said.

In addition to creating the Wall of Honor, students attended a special Veterans Day assembly on Nov. 11. At the assembly, the name of each veteran submitted to the wall was read and photos submitted by friends and families were displayed.  Students from the school band, orchestra and choir participated in the assembly by performing a medley of patriotic songs.  

 “It is important for our students to honor and recognize the sacrifice made by all the members of our military to keep us safe. We hope that by connecting each person to our Butler family, our students will recognize how important our veterans are,” Van Haaften said.

The Veterans Day assembly also honored the three veterans from the Butler Middle School staff: Mr. David Olsen who served in the Army, Mr. Joseph Marriot who served with the Marines, and Mrs. Pam Tafili who served in the Navy.