Veterans Day was Monday, November 11, resulting in a day off from school. To show appreciation for veterans, SBHS Political Science and Economics teacher William Dodson put together a display showcasing Santa Barbara High School alumni who were killed in action. Some of these deaths date back to WWI. Others were killed in WWII, Korea, Afghanistan, and Vietnam.

Dodson spoke about how his idea for the display came from a past experience. “My first year of teaching, they put a rock in front of the gym dedicating all of the names of the veterans,” he says. “I took my class there and some kids in the back who were not paying attention said ‘They’re just names on a rock, who cares?’” Dodson went on to talk about how he went to the library to find some yearbook photos and learn as much as he could about these veterans. “To some people they are just names on a rock, there’s no connection there.” 

Dodson would like the current and future students to know about the memorial that “They were students just like you…they were not much older than you guys. They were scared, they had dreams just like you…“Imagine your senior year and you’re thinking, ‘Oh, hey here we are in November, what are your plans for winter break?’ And then World War II starts. Everything changed.” Dodson hopes that students  remember that each and every one of the veterans were just like us.

Dennis P. Cook was a member of the SBHS graduating class of 1954. Cook was born on November 1, 1936 in Santa Barbara and was very active around Santa Barbara High School. He was in the Spanish Club and the Varsity basketball team, the Hi-Y council, and the ASB and Rally committees. He planned on going to University of Southern California after high school and pursuing a career in naval aviation. Cook was killed in Vietnam on April 6, 1966 as a result of an aircraft accident. He was a Lieutenant in the US Navy. Cook was the father to two girls who were two and three years old at the time of his death. He was said to have many friends wherever he went and was a great sibling, according to his brother.