A performance last year by Gordon Central High School chorale students has led to next week’s “Salute to Our Hometown Heroes,” including former GCHS students who have served in the military.

The special celebration will include performances by the GCHS band and chorus and the dedication of a plaque listing the names of more than 100 former GCHS students who went on to serve in the U.S. military, said Kim Watters, Gordon Central chorale director.

The program will be held at 9:15 a.m. Wednesday, Nov. 10, in the main gymnasium on the GCHS campus. It is open to the public.

“Some of our kids were part of a similar ceremony last year in Cherokee County, and they asked why couldn’t we do something like this at our school,” Watters said.

The “Salute to Our Hometown Heroes” will include performances by the GCHS band and chorus, a dramatic presentation by a GCHS teacher and a speech by Lt. Col. John L. Throckmorton, commander of the U.S. Army’s Atlanta Recruiting Battalion.

Throckmorton, a 1992 West Point graduate, served with the Army’s 1st Cavalry Division for 14 months in Iraq.

Watters said the program will include a showing of the video “American Memorials” to teach students about the price of freedom and a recognition of all branches of the U.S. military.

A moment of silence will be observed in memory of Marine Lance Cpl. Cody Warren, a GCHS graduate who was killed in Iraq.

“We have the names of more than 100 of our students who have served in the military, and Cody is the only one we know of to die in military service, but we will salute all those from Gordon County who have fallen in battle,” Watters said.

A plaque honoring GCHS alumni who have served in the military will be dedicated following the program, Watters said.

A reception will follow for military guests and their families.