A memorial erected by Union war veterans at Arlington. When I first had the opportunity to do research and travel regarding World War II, I trusted that in some way the experience would work its way into my classroom. I was teaching economics only at the time, so how my historical odyssey would imprint my teaching seemed a little fuzzy. I had the privilege to travel overseas and do research again in 2018, that time for both the Korean War and World War II. And now I'm going for a third year in a row. The imprint of these experiences is becoming clearer. When preparing to teach a lesson on the Civil War era, a reference in the textbook caught my eye. It summarized how changes in embalming technology and the culture of grieving influenced Americans' responses to the massive death toll of that conflict. The reference gave me a chance to have some very meaningful conversations about loss and grief with my students. It also allowed me to share with them ways in which Arling
A journal from a teacher who has had the privilege of traveling overseas, learning more from the stories of our fallen heroes.