Cooley Middle students profile some who served

Brooklyn Gutierrez, left, president of Cooley Middle School‘s Imprints of Honor chapter, and chapter Vice President Anna Papko gave a presentation last month to other chapter members about their project. (Spenser Lee/Staff Photographer) A student's question about a war movie set Imprints of Honor in motion more than two decades ago.The student, in Barbara Hatch's history class at Cactus Shadows High School, wanted to know whether “Saving Private Ryan” reflected real events.Hatch invited veterans into her classroom to answer the question. Their visits continued over the years and eventually grew into Imprints of Honor, an Arizona nonprofit now in its 23rd year of connecting students with veterans to preserve their stories. This fall, students at Heritage Academy Mesa and Cooley Middle School in Gilbert are carrying on that work.Imprints of Honor pairs students with veterans for interviews about their lives and military service.

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