The month of November is dedicated to veterans, so teachers, students and faculty at LHS are putting in a lot of time and effort to honor veterans this month.

The Social Studies Department put together a project to recognize those who have served in the military for Veterans Day this year. They created a “Wall of Honor,” which includes pictures of veterans, their names and a caption with any additional information about each veteran, such as who at LHS they are related to.

The wall is displayed in the main foyer of the school and was set up on Tuesday, Nov. 7, just in time for Veterans Day, which is Saturday, Nov. 11. The photos will be kept up for the following week as well. After, the people who submitted the pictures will be invited to come take down the picture of their veteran, according to Mr. Shawn McCusker, the social studies department supervisor.

The purpose of the wall is to identify and recognize the veterans submitted by their loved ones. Submissions did not have to be of a family member; they could have been a friend as well. Mr. McCusker said that anyone who is a part of the Libertyville community could submit a veteran they wanted to see honored: students, teachers, faculty, administrators and other members of the community.

Last year, the Social Studies Department did something similar, where they made a video with pictures of veterans who work in the school or who had ties to the LHS community. Mr. McCusker explained how he would like to continue doing this for years to come but “would like to do something slightly different every year so it’s not just the same.”

Mr. McCusker noted that there was a huge rush of pictures sent in at the beginning of this year’s project, and he expected there to be a huge rush again toward the end. He also predicted that there will be more submissions this year than there were last year because the idea of the “Wall of Honor” has gained traction and more people are aware of it.

Mr. McCusker, a veteran himself, reiterated how there is more to this “Wall of Honor” than just displaying the pictures of the veterans. As he said, there is a unique story behind each and every veteran that deserves to be honored and respected: “It is important to recognize people, but what is more important to me is when a student sees [the “Wall of Honor”]. I hope they go ask that parent, grandparent, or sibling and talk to them about their story and have a conversation because while this wall is really important, connecting with people and sharing that experience is also a very powerful thing that I hope we can foster.”

In addition to the “Wall of Honor,” on Wednesday, Nov. 8, LHS had an honorary breakfast to recognize both the veterans who work at the school and LHS families whose parents are currently serving on active duty or are veterans. There are approximately 50 identified LHS families who have family members who are veterans or are currently serving, according to Mrs. Jennifer Uliks. LHS also has three staff members who are veterans: Mr. McCusker, Mr. Robert Uliks and Mr. Jake Conley.  

Also during the month of November, every Link Crew group, which is about 60 total groups of freshmen students who are being transitioned into high school with the help of upperclassmen leaders, will be making military care packages. Every single freshman student in Link Crew will be contributing to these packages by adding items like deodorant, non-perishable snacks, toothpaste, playing cards, lip balm, lotion and much more.

Mr. Bill Reichert, one of the Link Crew advisors, explained how these care packages will be sent and to whom they will be sent: “We have ways to [send the care packages] anonymously, but we are working on getting a Libertyville connection.”

Link Crew leader, Jillian Cote, believes “making these care packages is a great idea because it brings awareness to giving back to soldiers and veterans who have risked so much for our freedom.”  

Additionally, there is going to be a guest speaker who will talk to the Link Crew groups about his life in the military to help them understand what life as a soldier is truly like.