"Our True Stars” is a painting presented to residents of the Community Living Center at Butler’s VA Hospital.

Art teacher Sue Noble Burtner created the work with the assistance of students from St. Luke Lutheran School and Penn Christian Academy.

When asked what they noticed about the image, students and veterans initially noticed a map of the US, red poppies, and an American flag in the background. Upon further inspection it becomes apparent that the flag features “dog tags” rather than stars in the flag, and words like “mother,” “father,” “neighbor” and “friend."

When students were asked “Who does our military fight for?” a resounding “Us!” filled the room.

To represent this truth, students from both schools filled the painting with drawings of themselves signed with their first names.

Most of the children thought the flowers were roses, and discussions on the poem “Flanders in the Fields” helped in the understanding of red poppies as symbols of our veterans.