BY BRANDY TEMPLETON

North Iredell High School dedicated its new Veterans Memorial Wall on Friday in conjunction with the school’s annual Veterans Day celebration.

Veterans, families, faculty members, alumni, JROTC cadets and students enrolled in history classes attended the event.

Master of Ceremonies Scott Lunsford explained that the North Iredell Veterans Memorial was a long time in the making. With the idea taking root in 2001, it was thoughtfully planned out by the North Iredell High Capital Improvements Club. Construction started in July and was completed in October.

“This was a vision of a former member of the Capital Improvements Club David Benbow,” Lunsford said.

He thanked the Capital Improvements Club, NIHS, the North Iredell community, Iredell-Statesville Schools, and the Iredell County Board of Commissioners for supporting the project.

Keynote speaker, retired commander Jeff Pierce, served in the Navy from 1986-2011.

The 1986 NIHS graduate spoke passionately, encouraging the students to protect their freedoms, saying that the United States is great because of the Biblical and moral principles it was built upon. 

“We have a lot of freedoms we take for granted,” he said. “We have to defend our liberties and know what they are. It’s a constant fight to protect them.”

Pierce spoke about the importance of memorials

“Monuments help us remember our history, the price we paid, and make sure we don’t forget,” he shared. “We must not forget because evil abounds us now. Forces want to take our freedoms away. We see it more and more everyday.”

Pierce also spoke about the Lion of Fallujah, Maj. Doug Zembiec.

The Marine was described as “one of the greatest leaders of all time and a true American,” he said, citing Zembiec’s personal code.

“He said to ‘Be brave, be a good father and husband, be honest and live with integrity,’” Pierce concluded. “He also said he’d rather live one day as a lion instead of 1,000 days as a dog.”

As part of the ceremony, NIHS staff member Tennille Kilby Sherrill sang the “National Anthem” and Lee Greenwood’s “God Bless the USA.” Clay Lunsford played each military branch’s anthem on his guitar. Reverend A. Lunsford blessed the memorial.

Principal Diana Jones teared up describing what the new memorial means to her.

“The whole goal is for young people to appreciate their freedoms. We have to teach them sovereignty and what it means to be a proud American,” she said. “As I looked out over at my students, some were misty-eyed hearing about what their country‘s freedoms mean. It’s something Snapchat can’t teach them.”

After the ceremony, the Capital Improvements Club served veterans a barbecue meal.

Photos