Jim Thorpe Area High School graduates who served in any branch of the United States military will be forever remembered for their service at their alma mater.

The recognition is part of an Eagle Scout project created by Tyler McGeehan, 16, a junior at JTAHS and a member of Boy Scout Troop 555, Penn Forest Township. While McGeehan is up for the task, he needs the community's help to gather the necessary information.Graduates' names will be displayed in a glass case located in the foyer of the school, near the commons area. McGeehan, who is the son of Jack and Robin McGeehan of Penn Forest Township, will construct the case, which will be similar to the Hall of Fame case already located in the school commons."There will be five squares across the top of the display that will have the emblem of each branch of the military," says McGeehan. "A triangular flag holder will be placed on top."The flag holder will encase an American flag that was flown at Forward Operating Base Camp Bucca in Iraq on March 29, 2008. A former student, Staff Sgt. Robert S. Coleman, who is in the Air Force and currently stationed at Nellis AFB in Nevada, had the flag flown for the school."He had it flown as it was his first tour and he lost people very close to him, where it could have been him," says his mother, Lisa Gradl, who also works at JTAHS. "I believe he did it as he didn't know if he would ever be back, and his greatest pride and love is his family, community and country."Gradl says on a subsequent tour, Coleman also had flags flown for her and her granddaughter.Gradl presented the flag to the school after receiving it, but it had been put aside until a proper display case could be built. When she found out the flag had not yet been displayed and why, she contacted Troop 555 Scoutmaster Ray Attewell, hoping it might be a project one of the Scouts would take on."Ray found Tyler, who actually we know also, and Tyler ran with this project," says Gradl, who is very touched by McGeehan's commitment."Our men and women give everything," says Gradl. "Every little bit of respect we can give them, they deserve. Thank you Tyler, from the bottom of my heart, from all our military."McGeehan is currently collecting names for the display case. He needs the first and last name of the soldier, the branch of the military in which they served, and the year they graduated from the high school. The names will be etched onto a metal plaque by M&D Awards in Jim Thorpe. On the back will be a strip of Velcro, which will allow the names to be moved if necessary, in case McGeehan cannot obtain all of the names by the time the display case is erected.Once the project is complete, and McGeehan graduates, the display case will be maintained in perpetuity by the school's National Honor Society, who will see to it that future graduates who serve in the armed forces will be recognized as well."Tyler's project provides the much needed recognition for Jim Thorpe grads that served our country, including present staff members," says Jim Thorpe Area High School Principal Tom Lesisko."The names included in the plaque contribute to the history of the school district and develop a sense of community for present and future students and parents," adds Lesisko. "I am pleased Tyler decided on this project and look forward to its completion and display."Lesisko says the new display case will be placed where the large Wheaties box is currently located, since there is electricity there to light the names in the display case."The Wheaties box will remain in the front of the building since it represents another important part of Jim Thorpe Area School District's history," says Lesisko.McGeehan, who has already obtained approval from the Boy Scout Council for the project, has raised about $500 of the approximately $1,000 he will need to construct the case.Names of students who graduated from Jim Thorpe Area High School and served in the military, from the school's inception in 1955, to the present, can be sent to McGeehan at

tylermc94@gmail.com; or he can be reached by phone at (570) 325-4697.