More than 50 Guilford High School graduates inducted into school’s first Military Wall of Honor

ROCKFORD, Ill. (WIFR) - More than 50 Guilford High School graduates serving or who have served in the armed forces are inducted into the school’s first Military wall of honor Thursday afternoon.

The Military Wall of Honor has been five years in the making. Organizers say seeing everyone’s faces when it was unveiled made the wait worth it.

“As a Guilford Viking to serve as a warrior mascot it was engrained in our blood as we went through these hallways,” says U.S. Air Force Master Sgt. Annie Picken.

Picken always wanted to serve but her parents wanted her to go to college first. After graduating from Guilford in 1999 and earning her degree, she enlisted in the U.S. Air Force in 2008.

“I love seeing that this will grow and honor all of those who have the same desire to serve,” says Picken.

“It’s pretty amazing seeing how many people have served and what they did for our country, and they went to the same school I did,” says U.S. Air Force Senior Airman Katia Peña.

Peña graduated from Guilford in 2019 and enlisted as a member of the U.S. Air Force. She plans to use what she’s learned in the Air Force to inspire future Guilford grads to make the same commitment.

“I want to let seniors know that the Military isn’t a scary thing. There’s a lot of benefits that come out of it. There’s free schooling, you get to travel a lot for free and you get a lot of life experience.”

The school’s already put in an order to expand the wall. Leaders plan to have two inductions a year: one around Memorial Day and another on or around Veterans Day.

At least 10 people will be added to the wall in November. Anyone hoping to be honored can fill out an online form and must meet two requirements: graduate from Guilford and be active duty or honorably discharged.