On May 7, 2012 seven veterans of the Copperopolis VFW Post 12118 spoke with junior and senior students at Bret Harte
High School to share their experiences while fighting for
our country. VFW Post 12118 had representatives from WWII, Korea,
Vietnam and Iraq. A total of 22 veterans from Calaveras County and the surrounding areas attended this event, including a 92 year-old WWII veteran from Modesto.
The idea to bring "history alive for the students" was the reasoning behind this event. Realizing that to learn history on a first-person basis is the most remembered history, Bret Harte History teacher Jennifer Truman began the veteran oral history project in 1997. The presentation follows on the heels of the completion of World Studies through the Vietnam War in their course work, so that the students have a "simple idea of the conflicts in which the presenters were participants of."
The idea to bring "history alive for the students" was the reasoning behind this event. Realizing that to learn history on a first-person basis is the most remembered history, Bret Harte History teacher Jennifer Truman began the veteran oral history project in 1997. The presentation follows on the heels of the completion of World Studies through the Vietnam War in their course work, so that the students have a "simple idea of the conflicts in which the presenters were participants of."
Each veteran sat at a table with one to three students sitting across from him. Some vets brought pictures, news clippings of the time, even books written about certain battles they had been in. The students had a list of questions to ask in hopes that it would lead to a greater dialogue between the vet and the student. Some of the basic questions were: branch of service, rank, conflict, stationed, duties, etc. While some students dutifully followed the list the majority readily engaged in conversation with the veterans. After 20 minutes a buzzer would sound and the students would move to another table. As the period came to an end multiple students asked for a pass so that if their next period teacher would allow them to, they could come back and interview more veterans. One young lady said, "This was so amazing! I want to talk to ALL of them."
The following are student comments:
"awesome"
"very interesting, the pictures of when they were younger and now so old, they were our age"
"I want to do this next year"
"I liked learning what they experienced"
"crazy to hear their experiences"
"extremely fascinating"
On a more personal note, as I walked by the tables photographing the groups I heard tidbits of conversations. The students quickly became 'friends' with the veterans and some held their heads real close to talk conspiratorially to the vets as if the stories told were somehow bestowed upon them in a confidential manner. At one table a young lady said to the vet "Wow, helicopters sound scary? How old were you?" When he informed her he was 19 she exclaimed, eyes wide with wonder, ""Wow, that was young!" The vet laughed, not sure if she meant he was really old now or if she realized that when he was in Nam he was just a year or two older than her.
