While positioning plastic stakes with the hand-written names of deceased U. S. Servicemembers into a plot of land in front of Clover Park High School on May 26, various thoughts flashed through Air Force JROTC cadet Jun Kim's mind as he lightly tapped the stake with a rubber mallet.

"It's really emotional ... it sometimes gets to you," said Kim of the realization that each stake represents the life of a Servicemember who has died in Operations Iraqi and Enduring Freedom.

For the fourth straight year, Clover Park AF JROTC cadets and other students honored Memorial Day with an Arlington National Cemetery re-creation on the school's front lawn. As a tribute to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, the more than 6,000 sticks were spaced two-and-a-half feet apart - the exact stride length of the Old Guard Soldiers who watch over the tomb. Cadets also performed a march in honor the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier on May 26 as part of the observance.

Each student's personal connection to the project is part of the reason it has been such an important teaching tool, said Bryan Winkler, who along with fellow teacher David Russell started the project four years ago.

"It's a very worthwhile activity for our kids," Winkler said. "They learn how to think outside of themselves."

There have even been instances where students have held a marker of someone that they've known.

"It's the little connections that make it real," said Russell, an Air Force veteran.

Winkler and Russell maintain an updated catalogue of each deceased Servicemember, and the sticks are stored in plastic bins. The list of the deceased also has a picture of the person, making the connection that much deeper.

"The kids get to see the faces," Russell said. "It's amazing to see them connect."

Students volunteer to participate as part of their community service project. Kim, who hopes to go into the Air Force after finishing college, was participating in the project for the second time, and for him it was all about paying his respect for those who've made the ultimate sacrifice.

"(The memorial display) means a lot to people," he said. "(Working on it) is a great way to respect (the deceased)."

Since the project's inception, its impact has spread across the community, Russell said.

"It's become something that people look forward to," he said.

As students were working to complete hammering in the stakes, uniformed Soldiers came by on several occasions to shake students' hands and thank them for their participation in the project.

"It honors folks involved with the military nationally and locally," Winkler said. "We recently had a Soldier come by before he left for his fourth tour, and we routinely have people come to see it from all over the Puget Sound. It's striking a chord with all people."

In addition to the cemetery re-creation, students also had the opportunity to watch the HBO film Taking Chance in the school's performing arts center. The film tells the real-life story of Lt. Col. Michael Strobl, a volunteer military escort officer who accompanies the body of 19-year-old Marine Chance Phelps back to his hometown of Dubois, Wyo.