Buckhannon-Upshur High School

Students in Ms. Board’s English classroom are reading the novel A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier. On Friday, April 28^th, guest speaker Matt Blackburn shared his story of his experiences in Sierra Leone, the setting of the novel. Mr. Blackburn shared his story about his unit and experiences during the Sierra Leon Civil War and ultimate capture of President Charles Taylor. Mr. Blackburn’s story gave the sophomore students a better understanding of what occurred during the war of blood diamonds and answered many of their questions.