Students at Batesburg-Leesville High School maintain a monument that honors local veterans.

BATESBURG-LEESVILLE, S.C. — Students at Batesburg-Leesville High School are honoring veterans in the community by taking care of a monument at the South Carolina Army National Guard Armory in Batesburg.

First Sgt. Tim Covington, Army Instructor at Batesburg-Leesville High School, runs the JROTC program. More than 100 students participate in the program every year.

"We go from leadership skills to first aid to talking about team building, conflict resolution, financial aid, and how to apply for financial aid college applications and resumes," explained Covington.

The instructor says the program helps teach life skills that will extend far after students graduate from Batesburg-Leesville High School.

JROTC at Batesburg-Leesville High School believes it's important to honor veterans in the community.

Back in 2010, two former local recruiters in the area decided to create a memorial at the South Carolina Army National Guard Armory in Batesburg.

"They started getting contributions throughout the community to build that monument," said Convington. "When they retired and moved on to other duty locations, they kind of turned it over to our retired members club over here at the armory."

Covington is a part of that club. He said the group decided to let the JROTC program use it as their service learning project. This is now the second year it's been the program's service learning project.

The monument is made of bricks that feature names of veterans who have served in the military. There are also plaques dedicated to each branch of the military.

Each brick purchased cost $100 and goes directly to the monument.

The JROTC program has two services each year to add additional bricks to the monument.

"The Cadets take care of the maintenance of the monument. I take cadets over and actually just weeded out the grass and stuff, and we put mulch back in. We trim the hedges. We pressure wash the brick," Covington said.

Covington explained, "The big thing we try to teach the cadets in JROTC is being responsible and accountable. I think this all plays back into that at the monument because we try to teach them to give back."

Emily Leaphart, a junior at the school, believes it's important to give back to the community.

"It's really just our project to give back to the community because the community of Batesburg-Leesville does so much for our ROTC program," said Leaphart.

The cadets help run a formal ceremony twice a year.

The junior says the monument really touches families who have loved ones honored there.

"Sometimes some tears are shed as well because that is their loved one. Some did give the ultimate sacrifice for our country," explained Leaphart. "It's an honor to be in a group to be able to serve in that service learning project because there are so many other groups that don't have that opportunity like we do and to see how much it is appreciated in the community."