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Students make rubbings of various names while getting firsthand stories from a Naval officer.

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When First Baptist Academy history teacher Cindy St. John learned a replica of Washington D.C.’s Vietnam War memorial was coming to Naples, she was the first local educator to sign up for a field trip reservation.

“I have seen the wall in Washington, D.C., and I found it to be very moving,” she says. “It made me appreciate what we have and that our servicemen died for that. I want the kids to be able to relate to history – to make history come alive for them.”

St. John was joined by fellow instructor Jason Crain and two classes of students, Sept. 25, to view the 240-foot-long, eight-foot high black faux-granite wall, at Naples Memorial Gardens in North Naples. The monument is a three-quarter scale replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall in Washington, D.C.

During their visit, the FBA students were joined by fifth-graders from Naples Park Elementary School. NPE teacher Mary Lou DeFlavis prepared her students for the visit by having them read books about the Vietnam War.

Being able to see and touch the 58,000 names of service men and women who lost their lives or went missing in the war helped transform students’ reading into reality.

“It brings on a whole new level of empathy for this war, compared to studying about it in a textbook,” said Alexi DiLella, a student at FBA. “It really is moving to see and hear people that were part of the war talk and share their experience -- better than a history teacher or textbook can teach you.”

Crain’s senior high students have also been studying the Vietnam War in their classrooms.

He said the field trip touched his students in a profound way. Many commented how they were amazed at the number of people who sacrificed so much for freedom.

“You truly do not appreciate the bravery of these men until you go to the wall and see it for yourself,” said Trevor White, “It is a very emotional experience. My grandfather was in that war and I saw some of his friends on the wall.”

MARTIN MIRON / Staff

Timothy Hale, 13, left, an eighth-grader at First Baptist Academy, traces a name from the Dignity Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall with her classmate, Giulianne Romero, Sept. 25, at Naples Memorial Gardens, on Immokalee Road.

The students also viewed the Quilt of Tears, a tribute to individuals affected by the spraying of Agent Orange, a powerful herbicide used to defoliate leaves and vegetation, during the war. The chemical caused significant health problems for soldiers exposed to the spray, including various cancers and genetic defects.

First Baptist Academy Principal Joel Stagger praised the value of the outing and the importance of freedoms that many Americans might take for granted.

“Our students appreciate the many people who sacrificed their lives so we might have freedom,” he said. “We have freedom to learn truth and to study the Bible in a Christian school. Many people in the world do not have that freedom or opportunity. Freedom is not free, and we should not take it for granted.”

Hosted by Naples Memorial Gardens Funeral Home and Cemetery, the wall is sponsored by Dignity Memorial, a network of funeral, cremation, and cemetery service providers. The wall has traveled to more than 200 cities across the country and thousands of Southwest Floridians were expected to visit the memorial wall over the weekend.