LEHMAN, Pa. — Private First Class Daniel S. Walko made the ultimate sacrifice while serving in the Vietnam War.
Before that, his sister says he spent some of the best years of his life studying at Penn State Wilkes-Barre in Lehman Township.
"He came here for two years. I believe he got rides, or he borrowed my father's car, and he loved it here; that's all I know. He loved it. He studied," said his sister, Linda Walko-Keast of Pittston.
For years, there was a memorial honoring Daniel, his sacrifice, and his connection to the university, but it was damaged and removed in 2012.
After learning about the memorial, the Student Veteran's Support Club decided to get to work.
"It's something that I feel like had to be done," explained Veteran Support Club president Matt Urban. "I feel like, you know, it was really no place to just have it sitting in the corner of a room. It should be on display for those to see."
Now, the memorial has been rededicated and placed in another spot on campus along this trail among the trees.
"So I think I feel that it's energetic because people are walking, talking, thinking, maybe sitting and going over what they want to do with their life," said Walko's sister. "So I feel a combination of excitement there but really positive vibes."
Making students who have served their country feel appreciated, seen, and understood.
"So it's nice to have a physical reminder that you can it that'll remind you because it's important," said student and Marine Corps Veteran Brandon Maher of Long Island, New York. "I mean, like, I don't personally know for sure if anyone that I know passed, and I don't really want to know, but there are people that have, like, left my unit to go on a deployment, and I'd never heard from them again. So I mean, it's, it's tough. I keep that in my heart."
"To see that they didn't forget, and they truly like have that in the back of their mind, like, hey, even though it's not here anymore, we're going to take the time. We're going to rededicate it and really make sure that we let our veterans know that we care and that they have a home here," said Jonathan Kelly, a student and Marine Corps Veteran from Huntingdon Mills.