Skip to main content

My Second Trip

Image result for korean war map




It's my privilege to travel for a second straight summer on a trip that involves research. In the winter I was accepted to a program underwritten by the National Cemeteries Association (which is part of the Veterans Affairs Administration) that involves research on the Korean War.

That it's the Korean War, not World War II, is one difference between this summer's work and last summers. Additionally . . .

I'm learning about two servicemen, not just one.

There are no students.

The no students thing is a bit disheartening. I came to adore the fifteen young men and young women on last year's trip. However, it's nice that I get to do the researching.

But I'll see many familiar faces on this trip: Paul, Amy, Lynne . . .

Paul was my roommate last year. We're rooming again this year in Hawaii. 
And I'll have the chance to eulogize a fallen hero, and to immerse myself in a period of history.

And I'll have the chance to bring something back to my classroom that is shaped by what I see and do.

- - -

The research began in February when I identified two servicemen to make the focus of my work. I'll tell you more about Staff Sergeant Mathewson and Lieutenant Colonel Wieczorek in my next post. I found it more challenging to keep up with research this spring without a student accompanying my intellectual journey (I guess Lauren kept me honest).

In July I fly to Hawaii for six days of learning more about the conflict. And a chance to pay my respects to Bruce's grave. That's S.Sgt. Mathewson.

In August and in November I develop ways to make this experience something other teachers can use, and from which other students can learn. That's where Vic (Lt. Col. Wieczorek) comes in.

Experiences like this can't help but affect the way one teaches. This year I instinctively discovered ways to get more about the Normandy Invasion in my teaching. Heck, I even tasked the students with an assignment in which they learned how we remember World War I. Toward the end of the year, what I've been learning about Korea crept into my lessons, too.

A student's notes from Lauren's presentation to my 4th block class. 
It's my hope that I can use the next three weeks to make posts here on this blog that will keep you up to date with what I'm learning. Once I get to Hawaii, this can be a place where I tell you about what I'm seeing. I'm fortunate to be where I am, getting opportunities like this to explore and travel and satisfy my historical curiosity about the meaningful niches in our past.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Those whom we honored (the final eulogies)

The chapel interior at Luxembourg American Cemetery. Most of us on the trip completed research for soldiers buried at Luxembourg American Cemetery. It's situated right outside of Luxembourg City and it receives a good number of visitors every year. The fact that General George Patton is buried there has something to do with their high visitorship. In fact, the initial attempt to bury him along with the soldiers failed when the foot traffic to his grave wore out the grass. Patton's grave now sits by itself near the top of the hill at the cemetery, near the chapel and tablets of the missing. Suzy's soldier. Six of us delivered eulogies that day: five teachers and Kaat. When I had the chance to listen to students' eulogies back in 2017, I was struck by how something of each student's character worked itself into the story they told. I still get a bit of a sense of that with eulogies delivered by teachers. However, the element that works itself more powerfull

Some Thoughts on Liberation

One of the markers placed by the French and Belgian governments to mark the path of the liberators.  My greatest takeaway from this most recent trip involves some refined feelings about liberation. I'm writing this post in a time of high cynicism. And the were matters of which one could be cynical back in 1944, the year in which Charlie fought and died. This trip, however, left me with renewed appreciation for what our country did back in that war, helping me refocus on what I've had the chance to see and do the past few years. Christopher is the military historian who accompanied us on this voyage. In one of our webinars this spring, he made an offhand reference to a piece of scholarship about the Holocaust he said was worth reading. It's entitled Bloodlands: Europe between Hitler and Stalin. It's heavy. I can't say I read every chapter. But I read most of it on our bus rides this summer. And I'm glad I did. My unassigned reading. Saying that Bloo

Eulogizing Charlie

By Charlie's graveside in Luxembourg.  You may find the eulogy I wrote for Charlie interesting. I have it copied here. The marker by which we stand today identifies Staff Sergeant Charles F. Simcox, Jr., as a hero who gave his life in service to our nation. Before entering the service, his family knew him as Charlie. To this day they keep the memory of Charlie, or Uncle Charlie, alive. Many of the members of this closely-knit group still live near West Chester, Pennsylvania, where Simcox grew up. They have not grown apart in the decades of peace and prosperity that Simcox’s service and sacrifice made possible.    Something that I wanted to convey, but that seemed very difficult to convey, was the joyous and warm sense of his family. When I reached out to them this winter, they were more than happy to meet with me. I felt like something of a guest of honor. And so many of them came out to meet me that I lost track of who was who. A warmly receptive family isn't a