Sharing memories of war
By Layla Wilder
What began as one boy's meeting with a Holocaust survivor has turned into friendships between dozens of World War II veterans and Rocky Run Middle School students and an oral history room for western Fairfax County.Students listened intently on April 24 when Richard Williamson told them about the first time someone shot at him.
He was near the Rhine River and the attack was so surprising that “it must have been by the Daniel Boone of the German Army,” said Williamson, a Maryland resident.
“What life lessons did you learn from the war?” Curtis Christian, a student, asked Chantilly resident Nadia Pardo.
“That there has to be no more war,” Pardo said. “No more war.”
Pardo told students about being a 10-year-old girl living in Tel Aviv, Israel, during the Italian air raids. “We never went to the public shelters because we could go downstairs in our house,” Pardo said.
Rocky Run Middle School history teacher Jamie Sawatzky's idea for World War II oral history day came from an unforgettable meeting he had with a Holocaust survivor when he was younger.
The award-winning teacher's efforts to connect students with a dying generation began seven years ago with a handful of veterans.
More than 80 veterans from all over the country were at the school on April 24 for “The Latest Generation Meets the Greatest Generation” -- this year's World War II oral history day.
“It just kept getting bigger,” Sawatzky said. People from across the nation flew in to participate and people have told their friends about the event, who wanted to participate.
Interest in the annual event was so great that school administrators decided to create a brightly-colored oral history room in the school for anyone in western Fairfax wanting to tape interviews to send to the Library of Congress. It will also be used by the school's oral history club, Sawatzky said.
Seventh-grader Julia Gastelle said she appreciates the chance her school gives her to talk with the veterans. “Textbooks just tell you facts, but the veterans can tell you how they feel,” Gastelle said.
Bill Scudder, a resident of the Fort Belvior area, teared up while telling students about his fellow soldiers. He served in the 89th Infantry Division and helped liberate the Ohrdruf death camp in Germany.
“I don't think you'll find any relationship between people ... well, it's a relationship you can't explain,” Scudder said.