06-05-2025
Lima schools breaks ground for veteran memorial
May 5—LIMA — Visitors to Lima Senior High School will soon pass by the names of 600 graduates who served in the U.S. armed forces.
Construction is now underway for the Veterans Wall of Honor, a monument to Lima schools alumni who enlisted or were drafted into the armed forces dating back as far as 1927 — 600 names and counting.
The wall will stand 6 1/2 feet tall with six panels, each with enough space to display the names of 280 graduates from Lima Senior, South and Central high schools.
District officials invited veterans, alumni and donors to a formal groundbreaking ceremony Monday to commemorate the start of construction, three years after fundraising began.
"We are so proud of all our students who make the decision to enter military service," Superintendent Jill Ackerman told the crowd gathered outside the high school.
Familiar names will include William Metzger Jr., who was killed during a bombing mission in World War II; Wayne Johnny Johnson, who secretly documented the names of his fellow prisoners of war in the Korean War; Charles Williams, one of the original Tuskegee Airmen; and "former students who walked the halls of this very building," Ackerman said.
District officials started fundraising three years ago to erect the monument at the suggestion of Lima Senior alumuna Tamara Wilson, an officer for the Allen County Veterans Services Commission, who was inspired by a similar monument at Perry High School.
No district funds contributed to the $70,000 project. Instead, district officials relied exclusively on contributions from local businesses and alumni such as the Lima Senior class of 1966, which raised in excess of $10,000 toward the monument.
Donations will continue to be accepted to cover future maintenance and engraving expenses.
"May it remind you that being a Spartan means something, and that service is one of our highest qualities," Wilson said.
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