The War That Defined A Century

Today is the ninety-fifth anniversary of the war that defined the character of the 20th Century and – to an extent – the experiences we have had in the 21st Century.

The men and women who lived during that time, fought the battles in the mud and trenches of France and other places around the world – they have by and large passed on, and often their stories with them. Great Britain reported in the last month the passing of their oldest WW I veteran and their last survivor of the trenches from the war. The US has two WW I veterans still living.

We are also losing our World War II veterans. Once source indicated almost a thousand of these veterans are dying in America every day. Then we have our Korean War vets, who are most likely retired by now, and our Vietnam vets, who – if not retired – are in their mid- to late-fifties.

If you personally know any vets from any era, see if they won’t talk to you about their experiences – and video tape it if you can. If you videotape it, make several copies – one for the Library of Congress Veterans History Project, one for your local historical society, and one for the home town historical society of the veteran – and one for the veteran to share with his/her family. We’re losing precious stories of history every day – perhaps we need to make one small act of trying to preserve what we teach.

And – we’re not only losing the stories of the veterans, but also of those who stayed at home during these wars. They all have their own story to tell – and those stories can be a revealing and fascinating look at the past.

All of this takes a little preparation in preparing questions, filming, etc., but is well worth the effort.

Essential Question: What is our responsibility as instructors for preserving the voices of the past?
-