WHITEHALL, Ohio — Whitehall police officer Mark Showalter loves working with the kids at Whitehall-Yearling High School.
He wondered if there was more he could do to teach them about history. Then he got the idea to take a group to Motts Military Museum in Groveport.
"Our young people are disconnected from what the military is," Showalter said. "They make a lot of statements, I'm not going to fight a war on the other side of the world that I know nothing about,” Showalter explained.
Showalter's bosses agreed, as did the school. They picked eight students to go, and they arrived in style.
“We went in a SWAT truck, and I thought it was pretty neat. I just couldn't believe it,” junior Tayvionn Scott said.
They got a personal tour from the owner of the museum and learned about the impacts of war.
“I think sometimes we get lost in, what does freedom even mean? How was it fought for, and how it is protected. It is something that is earned,” Showalter said.
The Whitehall Police Department paid for lunches and transportation. The museum also did not charge them an entry fee.
“Officer Showalter did his best, and he told us stories about how he was raised and how times have changed,” Scott said.
“People risking their lives so we can have the luxury of having this conversation right now,” said freshman Christian Caesar.
Showalter says he hopes he can do this trip for another group of kids.
“The kids are our future. They need to know what is going on out there,” Showalter said.