Garfield High School industrial arts teacher Chris Forgacs has never been one to seek accolades for his work. His impact on students has not gone unnoticed either and when 2003 graduate Amanda Owens stopped by her alma matter as a guest speaker for the Veteran’s Day Assembly on Nov. 3, she had a surprise for Forgacs, partnering with other members of the class of 2003 to purchase a brick in his honor at the National Museum of the Marine Corps.
“It caught me off guard for sure,” Forgacs told The Weekly Villager. “It is not anything I set out to do but it was just a byproduct of creative relationships with students in a genuine way. Amanda thanked me and I told her that hopefully you will get that same kind of humbling experience when some kid comes to you and says, hey I remembered that and it inspired me.”
The brick will be placed in the Museum during the Spring of 2024 and a replica will then be sent to Forgacs.
Forgacs, 51, said many members of his family served in the armed forces, including a pair of uncles with one serving in the Army and another serving in the Marine Corps.
According to him, he was inspired by his uncle who served in the Marine Corps to follow in his footsteps. He added that his uncle was very forthright with stories from his tour of duty, including some of the darker details.
He said what also drew him to the Marine Corps was that he believed that branch of the armed forces was well-trained.
“Nobody wants to go to war, but somebody has to do it but if you are going to go, why not do it with the branch that is most well-known for being well-trained and the finest fighting force in the world, so I would rather be with them,” he said.
Forgacs enlisted while he was still in college studying for a teaching degree and served for ten years during the height of the Gulf War.
He was stationed in North Carolina at Camp Lejeune, Quantico and Japan but ended his time in by serving on Inspector-Instructor duty for three years, training the reserves.
Although he served for ten years, Forgacs acknowledged his time as an active Marine ended earlier than expected when he was honorably discharged for medical reasons.
After returning home, he resumed studying for his teaching degree thanks to the support of the G.I. Bill, and became an industrial arts teacher at Garfield High School in 2001.
“I give a lot of credit to the other teachers because I would have a hard time in a regular classroom setting,” he added. “This hands-on class is something I am very good at. I do it at school and I also do it at home.”
Forgacs joined a teaching staff consisting of several veterans who served in South Korea and Vietnam and said he enjoyed swapping stories with his colleagues but was also forthright with his students about his time in the Marine Corps.
“They would always ask me about boot camp and about my time and what I did so I was very open with the kids about serving in any branch of the service but I would always push them to the Marine Corps,” he said.
For those who did pursue a career in the Marine Corps, Forgacs would always travel to South Carolina to attend the graduating ceremonies for his former students.
In 2017, Forgacs built a Veteran’s Wall of Honor, a wall that honored all former Garfield students that served in the armed forces and said he was inspired to do so when he saw something similar at a wrestling tournament.
“It just dawned on me so I ran it by the administration here and they thought it was a great idea and they gave me a small corner,” he said. “I put the word out and I filled up the entire corner and I said we are going to need to move this.”
Garfield’s Veteran’s Wall of Honor is now stationed in the commons, next to the gymnasium and is filled with photos of graduates and also those who did not attend Garfield before it became a school in 1955 but attended one of the neighboring Township schools.
“I honestly feel like every school should have one,” Forgacs said. “I do not know why every school does not have one. We have pictures of National Honor Society or the kids that were great at sports on a wall of fame. I don’t know why every school does not show some type of remembrance for their school.”
Although the Veteran’s Wall of Honor is reserved only for students, an exception will be made for Forgacs and when he receives his brick, Garfield will put that brick on the wall.
