Cathedral city history teacher honors locals killed in combat

CATHEDRAL CITY, Calif. (KESQ) - Lee Wilson, a history teacher at Cathedral City High School, was deeply moved by the deaths of his two former students, Ming Sun and Suresh Krause. Sun died on January 9, 2007, serving in Iraq. Krause died in Afghanistan on August 16, 2012.

"I still wear their dog tags next to mine," Wilson says.

Their service inspired Wilson, a veteran himself, to start the Palm Springs Fallen Heroes project in 2012, documenting the fallen heroes from the Coachella Valley.

"I started spending my summer vacation time doing all this research, as much as I could to learn about all those names," he says.

So far, he's documented 31 service members from the Coachella Valley whose lost their lives serving our country.

"I just want to make sure that those guys are honored," Wilson says.

You can check out the Facebook page Wilson's made for the Palm Springs Fallen Heroes Project here.