Why World War II with Fourth Graders?

Years ago, when I was working at Dillons we would have various groups come and stand by the doors to collect money for their different groups.  One group was a local group of veterans, sometimes it was spouses, sons or daughters instead to honor their loved ones.

One winter on a particularly cold stretch of days a group was collecting money for their local chapter and each day was staffed by veterans of different wars.  Being the history nerd that I am I took full advantage to engage and talk to these brave men and women about their experiences.  It was incredible!  None of the stories would make a best-selling novel or blockbuster movie but they were all THEIR story and each one was unique (and yes I wish I had a video camera to record them....)

I would offer them a drink from inside and they would talk.  Its amazing how a hot chocolate on a cold day could warm them up and bring out their own history.  At the time my major of choice was leading me to be a history teacher.  So I would share how their stories inspired me to help a generation (and future generations) never forget what they did for our country.  A few years later that major choice changed to Elementary Education which is where I find myself now.

I got really close to one veteran who on their last day came inside with a warm smile I will never forget.  He said he needed to talk to me for a few minutes so I took my break.  He told me that he wished he could pay for my school so that no one would ever forget what the people he served with had done but that all he could give was the $5 he had in his pocket and that he wanted it to go towards paying for my education.  He said this to me with tears welling in his eyes.  That warm smile and those tears in a man I barely knew but had an incredible respect for.

So that is why tomorrow my fourth graders will do their next Mystery Skype with the National WWII Museum in New Orleans.  Learning about the sacrifices of those brave men and women is no where in my curriculum and it might mean that something has to be sped up later but its time I wouldn't give up for anything.

P.S.  I still have that $5.  Its framed with a picture of another veteran friend I made while working there while that veteran was storming the beaches of France that got him on the cover of Time Magazine.