War Hero Tribute Launches 'Patriot Garden' Plans at Armwood High

Paul Cuzzupe II is gone but is certainly not forgotten.

On Thursday morning, Dec. 15, the fallen U.S. Army soldier was honored at his alma mater, Armwood High School, with a ceremony by the school's JROTC and the unveiling of a magnolia tree and plaque to commemorate the sacrifice Cuzzupe made for his country. The 23-year-old died while serving in Afghanistan last year.

The tree was selected by his mother, Annette Kirk, who chose it for what the magnolia symbolizes.

"The meaning of a magnolia tree varies, but it is associated with perseverance, strength and beauty," Kirk said. "This is a very special day. This helps me realize that everybody has remembered Paul. The tradition of planting a tree is an appropriate way of honoring a life and a passing, and I think everything that this tree represents was part of what made Paul so special."

The school has had several students go on to give the ultimate sacrifice over the years. While Cuzzupe was the focus of Thursday's ceremony, it is just the beginning of a larger memorial "Patriot Garden" that will sit in front of Armwood's south side.

"It's important that our students and everyone in our community have something to remember people like Paul," Armwood prinicipal Mike Ippolito said. "Anything that you do is because of people like Paul who make the tremendous sacrifice that they do. What we see here today is the beginning of a memorial garden that will commemorate the lives of students that attended school at Armwood and went on to give everything they could so that we can live the way that we do."

Members of the JROTC, National Honor Society, AVID, the Hillsborough County Sherriff's Office, the Armwood faculty and Cazzupe's family were on hand to witness the unveiling and pay homage to the fallen medic, who was killed by a pressure plate improvised explosive device (IED) in Afghanistan while coming back from a mission in August of 2010.

The sherriff's office came to know the family after the fallen hero honor escort it took part in to honor Cazzupe when he died. For Thursday's ceremony, J.D. Calloway of the sherriff's office helped the family get a tree, have the plaque made and coordinate the ceremony with the school.

"We just wanted to help the family," Calloway said. "Friends of all our troops donated both the tree and the plaque. This all really came together nicely to honor him, and the sherriff's office was just glad to be part of putting it together because Paul really meant a lot to Armwood and this community."

It was an emotional day for Kirk, who was happy to see that her son's legacy lives on and was boosted by the spirit of the unveiling.

"This year has been difficult, probably harder than last year," Kirk said. "This time of year in particular is difficult. Thanksgiving was his favorite holiday, and Dec. 2 was his birthday. But seeing these people out here makes me really proud because it shows that he touched a lot of lives."