`GREATEST' EDUCATION.Byline: DENNIS McCARTHY Dennis McCarthy may refer to:
The kid's question was so out of the blue, so unexpected, it made the old vets laugh. ``What's a mess hall?'' the boy wanted to know. Everett ``Lum'' Edwards, who served in the Air Force in World War II and the Korean War Korean War, conflict between Communist and non-Communist forces in Korea from June 25, 1950, to July 27, 1953. At the end of World War II, Korea was divided at the 38th parallel into Soviet (North Korean) and U.S. (South Korean) zones of occupation. , took a shot at answering it. ``Well, son, a mess hall was a big room where we all sat at long tables, talked and ate together,'' he said. ``But why'd they call it a mess hall?'' the kid asked again. ``Because it was usually messy all the time,'' Edwards said, laughing. ``We ate something called Spam, but don't ask me what that was because I'm still not sure.'' There might be more high-profile, high-powered programs with world leaders For a list of heads of state, see . World leaders is a MMORPG. The game involves creating a state, joining an alliance and going into war. It is mostly played by players from Israel, China, USA, Britain, Brazil and Saudi-Arabia. and dignitaries on the agenda at the Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley Simi Valley (sē`mē, sĭm`ē), city (1990 pop. 100,217), Ventura co., SW Calif. in an oil, fruit, and farm region; laid out 1887, inc. 1969. , but none more important than the 40 former soldiers and 120 high school kids who closed the generation gap Monday. Each veteran was interviewed by three students for the Library of Congress' Veterans History Project -- a long-overdue effort to collect and preserve the wartime stories of the Greatest Generation. So with handheld video cameras rolling and lists of questions ready, the students from Simi Valley, Hueneme and Pacific View high schools got a U.S. history lesson right from the source. Clyde East, 84, described how he flew a reconnaissance mission behind the front lines at Normandy on D-Day, shooting down two planes from a formation of German fighters. ``How many medals did you get?'' asked Eduardo Rivas, a Hueneme High senior. East smiled. In all, 42 air medals for 300 combat missions flown as a reconnaissance pilot in World War II and Korea, including the Silver Star, he told the students. ``It was in the Guinness Book of World Records until they did away with the category,'' the Oak Park resident said. The students eyes widened. ``You were in the Guinness Book of World Records?'' they asked. Across the room, 92-year-old Rose Baitman of Thousand Oaks Thousand Oaks, residential city (1990 pop. 104,352), Ventura co., S Calif., in a farm area; inc. 1964. Avocados, citrus, vegetables, strawberries, and nursery products are grown. recalled that she almost didn't get the 59-cents-an-hour job at Lockheed, working as a riveter on the B-17 bomber, because they didn't think she was big enough to handle the 15-pound riveting gun. ``They told me to come back on Monday and if I had gained two pounds they'd hire me,'' Rose said, looking into the camera. ``I ate and I ate but wound up losing two pounds instead. I begged them for that job, offering to work free for one month to prove I could do it.'' Rose paused and looked around the table at the kids hanging on her every word. ``Did they hire you?'' Tristan Alunbaugh asked. Yes, they did, Rose said, smiling. And she did one heck of a job as a real-live Rosie the Riveter Rosie the Riveter popular WWII song romanticizing women workers. [Am. Hist.: Flexner, 395] See : Mannishness . In another room, Pacific View High history teacher Trish Casey stood in the corner proudly watching three of her students talk with 75-year-old Sal Ayala, who served with the 82nd Airborne Division in Korea. Pacific View is a continuation school continuation school: see vocational education. for students who have been expelled or are on probation from traditional high schools. Motivating these kids can be a big challenge -- but not today. ``Look at their faces,'' Casey said. ``They're enthralled en·thrall tr.v. en·thralled, en·thrall·ing, en·thralls 1. To hold spellbound; captivate: The magic show enthralled the audience. 2. To enslave. by his stories.'' Ayala talked about the war, but he also talked about the importance of education -- how the GI Bill helped him get an education and buy his first and only house in Simi Valley for $12,500 -- with only $1 down. It's worth more than $500,000 today, and life is good, Ayala said. But none of it would have been possible without going into the service and getting an education. ``Were you treated differently in the service because you were Mexican?'' asked student Jose Lopez. ``Many times,'' Ayala said. ``But I could care less what they called me. I was proud to be a Mexican-American and serve my country. ``Nobody could take away my service and my education,'' he said, looking away from the camera and into the eyes of each of the students. ``Stay in school, get an education, make yourself proud.'' Yeah, there might be more high-profile, high-powered programs with world leaders and dignitaries on the agenda at the Reagan Library, but none more important than the old soldiers Old Soldiers is a sequel novel to the short story "With Your Shield" by David Weber, published in the anthology BOLO!, edited by same. It details the future of the two survivors of that battle as they try to keep alive a remnant of humanity, deliberately separated off and and high school kids who closed a big generation gap. dennis.mccarthy(at)dailynews.com (818) 713-3749 CAPTION(S): photo Photo: Arturo Burciaga and Teresa Gonzales listen to Everett ``Lum'' Edwards of Camarillo, an Air Force lieutenant colonel when he retired, who met with Hueneme High School Hueneme High School, or HHS as it is more often referred to, is a public four-year high school serving grades 9-12 in Oxnard, California. The school was founded in 1959 and sits in the heart of South Oxnard. students to talk about his time in WWII WWII abbr. World War II WWII World War Two on Monday at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library The Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Center for Public Affairs . Tina Burch/Staff Photographer |
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