New memorial to Valley High School veterans dedicated

It’s not yet mission accomplished, but significant progress was made on a new memorial honoring veterans who have attended — and will attend — Valley High School in New Kensington.

Enough of the new “Veterans of Valley High Memorial” was completed in time for a dedication ceremony on Monday, Veterans Day. A ribbon-cutting ceremony for the completed memorial is planned for Memorial Day, which is May 25.

Some 60 students — many current and former members of the Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps at the New Kensington-Arnold School District high school — helped build the memorial in front of the school, said Lt. Col. Wayne Sodowsky, who is retired from the Army and is the senior Army instructor for the JROTC program.

Allegheny Valley Habitat for Humanity is a partner in the project. Siemens became its anchor sponsor with a $6,000 donation after a grant district officials pursued to pay for the memorial fell through.

The memorial is intended to honor the courage and sacrifice of those who served their country after attending Valley High School, Sodowsky said.

It’s being built where the Ten Commandments monument once stood in front of the high school before it was removed following a lawsuit. That monument now stands along Freeport Road in front of Mary Queen of Apostles School in New Kensington.

In a little over a month, the students and others working on the veterans’ memorial prepared the site and built the wall that is topped with flags for the Coast Guard, Air Force, Army, Marines and Navy, Sodowsky said.

“We’ve done as much as the weather will allow,” he said.

Bricks engraved with names of veterans who attended Valley High School will be placed in the ground of the memorial. So far, just one has been produced — for David Goodwin, a 1991 graduate who served in the Air Force from 1992 to 2015.

State Sen. Jim Brewster helped to ceremoniously place Goodwin’s brick at the dedication event.

Sodowsky said he has about 120 names, with military service verified for most of them, that will be placed on bricks and installed in the memorial. Nominations are still being accepted.

There’s room for as many as 2,000 engraved bricks, Sodowsky said.

Work that remains to be done in the spring includes placing sand under the bricks, painting and landscaping. The New Kensington Garden Club is expected to help with the landscaping, which will include red poppies.

School board Member Kathy Clarke said she wants to paint the railings in the area, which includes the two bridges over Little Pucketa Creek between the school and its parking lot.

“It looks great,” Clarke said of the memorial. “I’m so proud of them.”

Valley High School junior River Bonzani, 16, is expecting his name to be on a brick in the memorial. A company commander in the JROTC, he’s planning to go into the Army National Guard after graduating high school.

Bonzani said the memorial is a testament to the caliber of students who leave Valley High School.

“I’m united with so many other brothers and sisters I don’t even know,” he said. “It makes me feel strong. I’m leaving my mark at least once. Doesn’t everyone want to leave their mark?”

Bonzani was among the JROTC members who helped build the memorial, with his contributions being mainly to the wall itself.

“It’s really amazing we were able to get this done and build something that’s going to outlive us,” he said.