WINCHESTER, Va. — A Virginia high school senior is using a small space to make a big tribute.
Kat Kibler attends Millbrook High School in Winchester Virginia, senior students are allowed to purchase their parking spots and decorate them how they choose. Kat chose to use her spot to pay tribute to the U.S. troops who died during a bombing attack at Kabul airport back in August.
The attacks killed at least 60 Afghans and 13 U.S. troops, Afghan and U.S. officials said.
Kat said when she heard the news, it made an impact.
“I remember when the news came out for the 13 fallen soldiers, it hit close to home for me," she said. "I've grown up very military, I'm planning on going into the military… And I was like, 'I want to make this parking spot, something that matters.'”
She explained how she turned her space into an American flag that features all the names of those troops who died. She used duct tape and stencils to get everything just right.
"I had to lay out the duct tape to get the stripes the right way. I was mostly worried about the names, that was the biggest to me. So I ended up buying stencils. And I just hand-painted all the letters on all the names,” Kipler said.
Usually at the end of the year, the senior students' artwork is painted over, but Kipler hopes her tribute will remain untouched.
"No matter what, we're never going to forget these soldiers. I know, our country has a lot of ups and downs. But I would not be able to sit here and talk to you if it were not for our armed forces," she said. "They do a lot for us. And I really just want people to appreciate all they do for us because they make the ultimate sacrifice so that we can live our freedoms.”
Kat's mom shared her mural on Facebook. Her post has gotten more than 2,000 likes and has been shared more than 3,000 times.
Kat is currently training to be an EMT and plans to join the Marine Corps.
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