'Live From the Newsroom' takes a look at the lives behind those names on the Delco Veterans Memorial

On a windy, frigid corner just off bustling West Chester Pike in Newtown Square, there stands a testament to the backbone of Delaware County.

It is the county's newest monument and a fitting salute to those who served, and who often paid dearly for that service. It is the Delaware County Veterans Memorial.

It contains the names - etched in stone - of every Delaware County resident who died in the line of duty, offering up his life in service to his country.

Having been there several times, I can tell you it's a moving experience.

But something else has been happening behind the scenes of the memorial. As you gaze at each of the names carved into the surface, you begin to ask yourself who they were.

Where did this young man or woman come from? Did he have brothers and sisters? Was he from a long line of family members who served. It turns out I'm not the only one to ask such questions.

While doing the research to gather the names of those wh

o fell on the battlefields, several people who have been at the center of the push to have the monument built had similar feelings. Among them was longtime Newtown Supervisor Linda Houldin, a founding member of the monument committee and head of the Delaware County Veterans Memorial Education Committee. That was the genesis of one of the very special parts of the memorial.

Houldin approached West Chester University History Professor Robert Kodosky. The collaborative project that was hatched involved using college students to bring the names on the memorial wall to life.

Tonight our live-stream Internet broadcast, 'Live From the Newsroom' will visit with Kodosky and Houldin and hopefully some of the young students to talk about the project.

The memorial's Education Committee is now working with kids from first grade through the university level, in effect passing the torch of knowledge of those who served their country from one generation to another.

They'll talk about the digging it took, the research to first just get the names of those whose names appear on the memorial, let alone the background that makes every one of them such a compelling story. Even before construction on the memorial began, a team was deeply involved in the research stage, going through county, university and historical records to pull together these deserving names for the Wall of Honor.

But the researchers faced the same haunting question after tracking down the names. Who were these heroes?

Professor Kodosky's class turned out to be the perfect pilot tie-in.

Students researched the names and developed their stories. Their work is now an intricate part of one of the guiding principle's of the memorial effort: Using it as a living living history monument for students of all schools (public, private, charter, cyber) from grades 1 through 12 in conjunction with the Delco Historical Society.

Join us tonight at 7 at DelcoTimes.com for a very special look at the lives of some true Delaware County heroes.

If you have a question about the memorial - or any of the names that are displayed on it - email it to me at editor@delcotimes.com and I will bring it up during our discussion.