FORT BENNING, Ga., (May 15, 2013) -- The Exchange Club of North Columbus made a visit to Faith Middle School May 8 to rededicate a Freedom Shrine for the school.
A collection of documents, the Freedom Shrine display is a symbolic look at America's past, according to the website www.freedomshrine.com.
The school became part of the Exchange Club program in 1998 and had a Freedom Shrine dedicated in 2001.
Putting up a Freedom Shrine "represents the rich traditions of our country and in our history and in our past," said Scott Drew, a member of the Exchange Club who sits on the board of directors.
"We have an opportunity today to be able to look back and look back with pride," he said.
The guest speaker at the event was Col. Jeffrey Fletcher, Fort Benning garrison commander.
"As you think about the freedom shrine and what it represents, it's really a wonderful opportunity to take some of the stuff that you talk about in class or read about in your studies and actually see it firsthand," he said. "For me, that's when history comes alive."
Fletcher said that history oftentimes repeats itself -- a thought Carson Gilbert, an eighth-grader, said was important to know moving forward.
"I think it's important to know the events that happened in the past because most of the time, the events that happen in the past help to shape the future," she said. "So if you go back and you look on a mistake that one of the presidents made, if you become president one day you can go and make sure you don't make the same mistake. And, you can get a different outcome then whatever they got."
It's significant that the freedom shrine is at Faith, Fletcher said, because of the school's namesake: Lt. Col. Don C. Faith, a Medal of Honor recipient whose remains were recently repatriated.
"And now he truly is resting in peace on American soil for the first time in over 60 years," he said.
For more about Freedom Shine, visit www.freedomshrine.com.
Social Sharing