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By Candice Haggard Special to The News Sixty-one students from Central Middle School in Nederland had the honor of visiting Washington, D.C. from June 15 through 18. This was a really fast-paced trip for these young Texans. Every morning they were dressed and eating breakfast at 6:30 a.m. and then off to make memo ries. Some of the unforgettable places they visited were the incredible new World War II Memorial honoring more than 400,000 men and women who died for our country, the gorgeous 200-year old White House, the unbelievable memorials to Thomas Jefferson and Abraham Lincoln, the adorable panda bears and white tigers of the National Zoo, the memorials honoring the bravery shown at Iwo Jima and in the Korean War, the captivating Smithsonian Museums and the Vietnam Wall of more than 58,000 names of those who died or are still missing from action from that 10-year battle. Other exciting sights included a guid ed tour through the home of George and Martha Washington, Mount Vernon, with its 10 bedrooms and beautiful view of the Potomac River, the famous 45- carat Hope diamond, the horrors of the Holocaust Museum and the 70-second ride to the top of the 555-foot tall Washington Monument. A special part of the trip was made possible by Rep. Nick Lampson’s staff. Central students were given a tour through the massive, beautiful Capitol building. The students got to see where leaders make the laws for our country and the gorgeous paintings of our found ing fathers that are pictured in their new history books. Another memorable part of the tour was when the students went to the National Archives building. There are no words to describe the feelings a person has when they are standing right next to the document that gave us our freedom from England, the Declaration of Independence, as well as our incredible Constitution and the Bill of Rights. Up to this time, these had just been pages of a textbook. Now they were seeing the real thing! The highlight of the entire fabulous trip took place in the Arlington National Cemetery. The students were amazed when they saw more than 270,000 graves including John and Jacqueline Kennedy, Audie Murphy, the most deco rated soldier of World War II, and the memorial to the spaceship Challenger. Then it was time for the outstanding girl and boy in Central's “Washington, D.C. Club,” Megan Meier and Fred Foulk, to place a beautiful red, white and blue wreath in honor of Central Middle School at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. It was such a beauti ful, emotional moment as everyone stood completely silent and listened to Taps being played for them. It was a moment they will cherish forever! I would like to thank all the wonder ful families of these students for letting their children go on this once-in-a-life time educational trip to see our beautiful capital, Washington, D.C.! Those attending were: Caitlin Austin, Morgan Austin, Brian Bedford, Derek Benoit, Corey Blair, Wacey Bourque, Kristin Brady, John Brannan, Brittnie Braquet, Eleni Breaux, Fallon Casey, Blake Chaffin, Tracy Charles, Halie Clark, Justin Cashman, Andrew Cousins, Josh Crum, Cody Darbonne, Aaron Dionne, Lacy Domingue, Taylor Dunaway, Robyn Dwyer, Dana Elmore, Fred Foulk, Clee Gallion, Troy Hillston, Randi Holst, Carly Holt, Cole Howerton, Mallory Jordan, Britney Landry, Kirk Leonard, Kaitlin Margiolos, Tia Marshall, Misty Marze, Jared McAnally, Maci McFarlin, Lauren McMahon, Megan Meier, Chelsie Millard, Caitlin Miller, Cole Nesbitt, Corrie Nunez, Kaycee Pierce, Andee Piggott, Eric Pompa, Emmilee Price, Kelsey Pritchard, Paul Ramsey, Beth Sanford, Elizabeth Simmons, Casey Smith, Kaitlyne Sneed, Catherine Sosa, Tania Stephens, Merrideth Taylor, Shane Thibodeaux, Jessica Trahan, Lea Turner, Amy Well and Adam Weaver. Candice Haggard, teacher at Central, and her husband, Randy Haggard, have been taking students to Washington for 16 years. Other chaperones were Marlis Weatherly and Janet Myers, teachers at Central, and Weatherly's husband, Wes. Courtesy Photo Central Middle School eigth-graders visit Washington in June. Courtesy photo Megan Meier and Fred Foulk place a wreath on the Tomb of the unknown soldier.
Newspaper Details
Port Arthur News
Port Arthur, Texas, US
Wed, Jul 14, 2004
Page 5
Full Page
Clipped by
Kelsey P.
USA 08 Jun 2026
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