Veterans of the Copperopolis VFW Post 12118 have been invited to speak with the student body of the junior and senior classes at Bret Harte High School on May 7, 2012 to share their experiences while fighting for our country. VFW Post 12118 will have representatives from WWII, Korea, Vietnam and Iraq all present for the event.
This event, which began in 1997, is the brainchild of Bret Harte History teacher Jennifer Truman. After speaking to some veterans from the American Legion in Valley Springs the idea was created to let veterans tell their stories, their experiences to the youth of the community through an organized presentation. Following on the heels of the completion of the studies through Vietnam in their course work, the children have a "simple idea of the conflicts in which the presenters were participants of."
The presentation is set up in a fashion that creates a more intimate dialogue than addressing a large crowd, as each veteran will sit at a table with 3 to 5 students to talk with. The hope is that the students will then be able to absorb the story and make a more personal contact with a veteran.
The following are just a few of the statements from some of the students who participated in this event in previous years:
- Listening to the veteran talk, I felt like I was there.
- I learned that not everybody shoots guns in the military but they all do their part.
- He was cool to listen to and I learned.
- I understand now why its hard for my (relative) to talk about the stuff he did.
- I can see now why its important to ask old people about their lives, they have so much to tell.
Truman, a firm believer in oral history, feels this program brings "history alive for the students. Learning history on a first-person basis is the most remembered history."
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