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"for the sake of humanity"… A small town American high school history project changes lives worldwide. These are the observations of a veteran teacher- on the Power of Teaching, the importance of the study of History, and especially the lessons we must learn, and teach, on the Holocaust. Click on "Holocaust Survivors, Liberators Reunited" tab above to begin.

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The Last Generation.

November 22, 2015 by Matthew Rozell

the last generation

My 93 year old friend Alvin Peachman came into school on Friday. He was once a teacher at this same high school, and I was once his history student. Now he is in my first book, and it was one white haired old man interviewing another, before a polite and rapt audience of tenth and twelfth graders in my classroom. My friend Liza from the New York State United Teachers, who did a nice story on us for Veterans Day, also came up.

 

alvin 3

Alvin even brought in a fragment of the kamikaze plane that tried to do him in when it crashed into his ship, killing scores of his shipmates. As a radioman he would have been a target on the bridge of the ship, supporting the invasion of Okinawa, but he was not near that part of the ship when the suicide pilot struck that day.

Before the interview session began, I asked for a show of hands of the number of kids who knew of a World War II veteran, like Alvin, who was still alive. Two kids volunteered. Nearly thirty years ago, it was two hands in the air for every kid. And that is how this whole project got started.

Alvin was from a generation that knew firsthand of the Civil War veterans, and his father and his uncles were all veterans of the Western Front in World War I. He had a good day with the kids, and made them laugh on several occasions. But it got me to thinking. This is the last generation of kids to ever hear firsthand the stories of the most cataclysmic events in the history of the world, World War II and the Holocaust.

The students came up to Alvin after the lesson, some seeking his autograph, others just wanting to shake his hand and hang out a while longer with him. I think it made his day. I know it made theirs and it is not something they will soon forget- that they actually met a genuine World War II survivor and now have that tangible link to the past.

I hope it is not the last time, but they are certainly the last generation.

the last generation 4

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Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Alvin Peachman, Author Matthew Rozell, history education, narrative history, New York State United Teachers, NYSUT, Pacific War, Power of Teaching, Seventy Years, teaching history matters, the last generation, The Things Our Fathers Saw, the Japanese, Voices of the Pacific, World War II, World War II Generation | 4 Comments

4 Responses

  1. on November 22, 2015 at 8:30 pm Dina Henke

    I wish I could have been there. I have thoroughly enjoyed your book. Thank you for signing it for me at the Bar Association meeting. And thank you Mr. Peachman for your service.


    • on November 23, 2015 at 7:57 am Matthew Rozell

      Thanks Dina. maybe if you get the chance you could leave a review to help get the book out there. MR
      bit.ly/FathersSawReview


  2. on November 22, 2015 at 11:43 pm Gail Magidson

    One of the best parts must’ve been when you looked and saw that NONE of your students looked bored! That’s some great reward right there.


    • on November 23, 2015 at 7:59 am Matthew Rozell

      Yes Gail. And no one played with a cell phone, the whole time. MR



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