Readfield students display photos of soldiers

READFIELD – Students and staff at Maranacook Community School are paying tribute to American troops by posting photos, yellow ribbons and messages on a wall near the school entrance.

The “Wall of Courage” was started about a month ago in recognition of those serving in the war against Iraq. Besides pictures of school alumni who are serving in the Gulf war, there are also photos of veterans of earlier wars, and family members and friends of students and staff.

The wall came about from a discussion among staff and student senate members, and it is a work in progress, said Lori Putnam Dube, the school principal.

“Every couple of days I notice there’s a new picture up there,” she said.

Many of the faces on the wall are familiar to students.

There’s a large photo of Derrick Crosby, a 2002 graduate, in his Marine dress uniform. Heath Gifford and Josh Galoush, who graduated a few years ago, are also on the wall.

There’s even a photo of Michelle Chartier, 17, of Vienna, who attends Maranacook and won’t graduate until later this year. She’s up there because she enlisted in the Army and will join up once she leaves school.

Shay Whitten, an educational technician, stapled a yellow ribbon to the wall this week to go along with the photo of her brother, Tim, a Marine.

C.J. Kanozak of Manchester, a senior and the student body president, said he promoted the idea to the student body. He said 150 people stood up when he asked for a show of those who had friends or relatives in uniform.

He said students “don’t need to support the war, but we just need them to respect the troops we have.”

Kanozak said he didn’t have any photos to put on the wall. But that didn’t stop him from contributing.

“I just wrote a short message saying to support the troops,” he said.