Hersey honors veterans past and present
John Hersey High School in Arlington Heights saluted veterans young and old Friday by dedicating a permanent tribute to those who've served and celebrating what's become an annual fundraising effort for a veteran in need.
School officials formally dedicated the school's first permanent veterans memorial: an eagle sculpture featuring images of soldiers representing the five branches of the military, gold star banners, planes and tanks, and the school's namesake - a journalist who covered World War II. Called "Boundless Freedom," the bronze cast is on a wall near the school's main entrance.
It's the work of 1981 Hersey graduate Lou Cella, an Arlington Heights resident known for creating statues at Wrigley Field, Guaranteed Rate Field and around the country. He's also sculpted pieces on display at his other alma matter, Illinois State University.
"Certainly the most formative time of my life was here at Hersey," Cella said. "So when this opportunity presented itself, there wasn't any way I was going to let it slip past."
School leaders in 2015 commissioned Cella to create a sculpture honoring veterans. Ten donors also contributed to the project.
Cella said he wanted to incorporate Hersey, the author for whom the school was named in 1968. Hersey wrote "Hiroshima," based on his interviews with six Japanese survivors of the atomic bomb.
But, Cella wondered, how to incorporate a man who spoke out against nuclear arms?
"I did it by understanding that paying tribute to veterans and being anti-war are not contradictions," Cella said. "I see him in a postwar self, pleased that it has ended and that our boys are coming home, hopeful for ongoing peace in the future."
Later Friday afternoon during the school's annual holiday assembly, students presented a $34,700 check to retired Marine Sgt. Eric Morante as part of an effort to build him a home in Texas. It's the fourth year Hersey and other Northwest Suburban High School District 214 schools have partnered with A Soldier's Journey Home, an Arlington Heights-based nonprofit.
This year, District 214 raised just over $17,000, which was matched by Bosch Tool Corp. Students from Geometry in Construction classes at Buffalo Grove and Rolling Meadows high schools are also building wall sections for Morante's house that will be shipped to New Braunfels, Texas, near San Antonio. Volunteers from 15 states will spend eight days there in February building the home for Morante, his son and mother.
Morante, 33, is a Purple Heart recipient who served three tours of duty in Iraq. During his last deployment, he lost his right leg following an attack.
"These kids are high school students. They're teenagers. And they're doing something above and beyond," Morante said. "They're extending that patriotism out toward me. I'm so humbled by it."