thedrifter
04-05-07, 07:12 AM
Halls where heroes walked
FW school has lost five graduates since start of war
12:00 AM CDT on Thursday, April 5, 2007
By DEBRA DENNIS / The Dallas Morning News
debdennis@dallasnews.com
FORT WORTH – They have been killed by snipers and bomb blasts, and one perished while providing security for a group of Marines on foot.
With growing regularity, teachers and administrators at Western Hills High School pull out photographs to help them remember the graduates they watched march off the graduation stage into the Iraq war – and then become casualties.
Perhaps no Fort Worth school has had to face more war dead among its former students – four killed in combat in the last two years. Another graduate died in an Army helicopter crash in Georgia last year.
Of the four war dead, one was a member of the Class of 1995.
Three others graduated in 2002 – the senior class that witnessed the Sept. 11 destruction that united a nation.
Last month, news that two students had died saddened the school, but also inspired pride.
Army Spc. Marieo Guerrero, 30, was killed last month when a roadside bomb exploded near the Bradley Fighting Vehicle he was driving in Baghdad. He also attended Southwest High School and graduated from Western Hills in 1995.
Last Tuesday, friends, family and school officials bid a final farewell to Army Spc. Lance Springer II, 23, of Benbrook. Spc. Springer died March 23 in Baghdad when an explosive detonated near his unit. He graduated in 2002.
"When I heard it was Lance, my heart sank," said Lynda Green, who has taught biology at the school for 24 years. "Although I didn't have him in my classroom, I have some knowledge of him because he was so friendly and popular around school. He was outgoing."
She said she has fond memories of the students who paraded the halls of the southwest Fort Worth school in military attire, eager to serve their country.
Ms. Green said she resisted the urge to feel sorry for the students after learning they had died.
"They were so focused and seemed to know what they wanted," Ms. Green said.
Marine Cpl. Richard P. Waller, 22, was killed a year ago by a sniper in Fallujah. He was wounded during combat operations in Iraq's Anbar province.
He, too, was a 2002 graduate.
News of his death brought e-mailed photographs from another teacher who had kept in touch with him, Ms. Green said.
"We got pictures of him from the military along with his family," Ms. Green said. "I think it's an honorable thing to represent our military. We were always so proud when they came back to the school to visit us."
Amy Pfc. Ervin Dervishi, 22, was the school's first casualty.
He died in Jan. 24, 2004, during combat patrol in Baji, Iraq. Officials said a rocket-propelled grenade hit the Bradley Fighting Vehicle he was traveling in.
Fondly remembered as "Magic," Pfc. Dervishi did well as a cadet after transferring to the school during the 2001-02 school year.
Born in Albania, his family settled in Waxahachie in 1999, where he was on the soccer team at Waxahachie High School. The family moved to Fort Worth in 2001.
"He did not get a lot of ranks because he was only there for a year," said Ed Beckcom, Western Hills' former JROTC instructor. "If he had been here for four years, he would have moved up. He was a smart kid."
Another Western Hills graduate, Army Sgt. Rhonald E. Meeks died June 1, 2006, in a helicopter crash in Doerun, Ga. He also was a member of the Class of 1995.
All of the graduates died as heroes and should be applauded, Mr. Beckcom said.
"They are giving," said the retired lieutenant colonel who taught at Western Hills from 1986 to 2002. "I have a tremendous amount of respect for them. I had confidence in them."
Mr. Beckcom said he never brought military recruiters to the campus. They always called on him.
"The military – it gives them direction and focus," he said. "Unfortunately, when you go into the military, things are going to happen. You can only be so safe."
Ellie
FW school has lost five graduates since start of war
12:00 AM CDT on Thursday, April 5, 2007
By DEBRA DENNIS / The Dallas Morning News
debdennis@dallasnews.com
FORT WORTH – They have been killed by snipers and bomb blasts, and one perished while providing security for a group of Marines on foot.
With growing regularity, teachers and administrators at Western Hills High School pull out photographs to help them remember the graduates they watched march off the graduation stage into the Iraq war – and then become casualties.
Perhaps no Fort Worth school has had to face more war dead among its former students – four killed in combat in the last two years. Another graduate died in an Army helicopter crash in Georgia last year.
Of the four war dead, one was a member of the Class of 1995.
Three others graduated in 2002 – the senior class that witnessed the Sept. 11 destruction that united a nation.
Last month, news that two students had died saddened the school, but also inspired pride.
Army Spc. Marieo Guerrero, 30, was killed last month when a roadside bomb exploded near the Bradley Fighting Vehicle he was driving in Baghdad. He also attended Southwest High School and graduated from Western Hills in 1995.
Last Tuesday, friends, family and school officials bid a final farewell to Army Spc. Lance Springer II, 23, of Benbrook. Spc. Springer died March 23 in Baghdad when an explosive detonated near his unit. He graduated in 2002.
"When I heard it was Lance, my heart sank," said Lynda Green, who has taught biology at the school for 24 years. "Although I didn't have him in my classroom, I have some knowledge of him because he was so friendly and popular around school. He was outgoing."
She said she has fond memories of the students who paraded the halls of the southwest Fort Worth school in military attire, eager to serve their country.
Ms. Green said she resisted the urge to feel sorry for the students after learning they had died.
"They were so focused and seemed to know what they wanted," Ms. Green said.
Marine Cpl. Richard P. Waller, 22, was killed a year ago by a sniper in Fallujah. He was wounded during combat operations in Iraq's Anbar province.
He, too, was a 2002 graduate.
News of his death brought e-mailed photographs from another teacher who had kept in touch with him, Ms. Green said.
"We got pictures of him from the military along with his family," Ms. Green said. "I think it's an honorable thing to represent our military. We were always so proud when they came back to the school to visit us."
Amy Pfc. Ervin Dervishi, 22, was the school's first casualty.
He died in Jan. 24, 2004, during combat patrol in Baji, Iraq. Officials said a rocket-propelled grenade hit the Bradley Fighting Vehicle he was traveling in.
Fondly remembered as "Magic," Pfc. Dervishi did well as a cadet after transferring to the school during the 2001-02 school year.
Born in Albania, his family settled in Waxahachie in 1999, where he was on the soccer team at Waxahachie High School. The family moved to Fort Worth in 2001.
"He did not get a lot of ranks because he was only there for a year," said Ed Beckcom, Western Hills' former JROTC instructor. "If he had been here for four years, he would have moved up. He was a smart kid."
Another Western Hills graduate, Army Sgt. Rhonald E. Meeks died June 1, 2006, in a helicopter crash in Doerun, Ga. He also was a member of the Class of 1995.
All of the graduates died as heroes and should be applauded, Mr. Beckcom said.
"They are giving," said the retired lieutenant colonel who taught at Western Hills from 1986 to 2002. "I have a tremendous amount of respect for them. I had confidence in them."
Mr. Beckcom said he never brought military recruiters to the campus. They always called on him.
"The military – it gives them direction and focus," he said. "Unfortunately, when you go into the military, things are going to happen. You can only be so safe."
Ellie