The names of fallen U.S. soldiers are attached to a large billboard representing an American flag on the campus of Seton Hill University in Greensburg.
The click of a staple gun echoed in a courtyard at Seton Hill University on Monday morning as students tacked the name of each soldier who has died in Iraq and Afghanistan to a temporary memorial.
The symbolic salute would be heard more than 2,300 times as students affixed a business card-sized "brick" to a 10-by-20-foot flag that represented a Living Wall memorial.
"By taking a few moments to read the name of each fallen soldier and place it on the Living Wall, we will dedicate these few hours today to their commitment and their heroism," said senior Jeremy Burkett during a 10 a.m. unveiling of the wall.
Burkett and his fellow students developed the idea in a class on public discourse and sought to apply their learning, according to teacher Frank Klapak.
The class has "been discussing what it is and why we don't have much in our political climate," Klapak said.
"The students are neither for nor against the war. They are just demonstrating how to act on principles," he said.
The first name was 36-year-old Air Force Master Sgt. Evander E. Andrews Jr., of Solon, Maine, who died Oct. 10, 2001, in Qatar.
About 15 minutes later, 50 soldiers' names had been read in chronological order of their deaths. The last name in the first line touched the tip of the lowest red stripe of the makeshift flag. The memorial is set up at the Katherine Mabis McKenna Center on the Greensburg campus.
In his opening statement, Burkett quoted Martin Luther King's assertion that between birth and inevitable death, decisions people make define their character.
"We must not forget, or treat lightly, or ignore these heroic Americans, regardless of our own positions about the war. As citizens of this democracy, we must also act, as our soldiers do, on our principles and on our beliefs, not in anger, not with disdain for an opposing viewpoint, not with self-righteous indignation toward those who are seen as different, who believe differently, who behave differently.
"We must be free to express our opposing thought," he said.
The memorial will remain on display until Friday, when area veterans will offer a closing service.
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