Mural shows Austintown students sacrifices that built America

AUSTINTOWN

Whenever Samantha Bachochin sees something about the military, she thinks of her dad, who she said is a veteran.

Her father came to mind today, when the eighth-grade student saw “The Spirit of America’s Story: The Wall,” a nearly 100-foot-long mural depicting U.S. military involvement since the Revolutionary War.

“I loved it. It’s really nice to see this whole wall put together,” said Samantha.

She was among about 1,300 sixth-, seventh- and eighth-grade students who saw the mural, in addition to community members who came to a public viewing this evening.

The Spirit of America’s Story is a nonprofit organization that transports the mural across the country to educate Americans about the country’s military history.

“The traveling wall is to educate and inspire future generations about our country’s sacrifices through our military, police and fire,” said Patricia Sexton, a co-founder of the organization, whose husband died in the Vietnam War.

The traveling wall came to Austintown at the arrangement of middle-school history teacher Ron Johnson, who wanted to give his students “an appreciation of history and the veterans that made it.”

“I think this is something that’s really needed with the kids today, so they realize what people went through to keep this country safe,” he said.

Read more and see a photo of the mural in Thursday's Vindicator.