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BROKEN ARROW, Okla. – Ernest Childers Middle School officials honored a retired Oklahoma Army National Guardsman and Medal of Honor recipient during World War II at a portrait dedication ceremony on Wednesday.
The portrait of the late Broken Arrow native and Muscogee (Creek) Native American, Lt. Col. (Ret) Ernest Childers, will permanently remain in the school, leaving a legacy to echo throughout the hallways for newer generations. Childers passed away in March 2005.
“The portrait will reside in our front office,” said the school’s principal, Stacy Replogle, of Sapulpa, Oklahoma. “There will actually be a focal wall, so as soon as you walk into our building, everyone will be drawn to it.”
The school, named after Childers and opened in 1985, recently completed a memorial gallery that represents the life of Childers. Members of the 45th Infantry Division Museum, to include executive director Col. (Ret) David Brown, of Oklahoma City, and curator Mike Gonzales, assisted the school in setting up the gallery with artifacts and pictures of Childers throughout his life.
Childers holds a significant role in the history of the Oklahoma National Guard, as one of few who have earned the nation’s highest award for valor. His courageous actions on September 22, 1943, in Oliveto, Italy, earned him the Congressional Medal of Honor, after having saved eight of his men by advancing upon and killing German Soldiers by himself, all while having a broken foot.
“It’s a very rare medal,” said Gonzales, of Oklahoma City. “The men who receive it are true heroes.”
Special guests during the ceremony included Childers’ eldest daughter, Elaine Childers, of Broken Arrow, who spoke nothing but high-praise and admiration for her father, expressing his undying zeal for the importance of education, which ultimately led her to becoming a teacher.
“I would never be where I am today and I would never love what I’m doing if not for my father’s emphasis on education,” Elaine said.
Also in attendance was Sen. Bill Brown, of Henryetta, Oklahoma, District 36 Senator and sponsor for the State Senate Historical Preservation Fund, who helped initiate the portraits to be placed in both the school and at the Oklahoma State Capitol.
“Kids know; they understand and I think as they walk by, if you don’t know about him, you’re curious, because it’s such a focal point within our building,” Replogle said. “I’ve been in many different school districts and many different middle schools and I’ve never seen anything quite like this, so I think it’s pretty special.”
Mike Wimmer of Muskogee, Oklahoma, painted the portrait. Wimmer has also painted many historical portraits that reside in the State Capitol, including another Childers portrait.
“If the incredible life of this one man can spark that kind of dedication in just one of these students, the world will be an infinitely better place,” said Gonzales.
| Date Taken: | 03.23.2016 |
| Date Posted: | 03.29.2016 14:28 |
| Story ID: | 193786 |
| Location: | BROKEN ARROW, OK, US |
| Web Views: | 68 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Portrait dedicated recognizing 45th Infantry Division Medal of Honor recipient, by SSG Christopher Bruce, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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