Just as an experiment, ask somebody you meet this morning what is special about today’s date. I spring this on my students each year and I’m always pleasantly surprised that most know the answer right away. I am also generally scared at the increasing number who don’t. Perhaps more disturbing are the students who give me only blank stares when I ask them about the dates August 6th and 9th.
Sadly, this will be the last year that the Pearl Harbor survivors will gather in Hawaii to remember their fallen comrades.
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(Does anybody think the logic behind the atrocious Pearl Harbor movie went something like: “Saving Private Ryan was a hit. Titanic was a hit. But we can’t do a sequel to either. Now…how do we get Private Ryan on the Titanic…?”)
2 responses so far ↓
1 Ken Wedding // Dec 7, 2006 at 10:46 am
While i wasn’t usually teaching in August, I too asked the question about Dec. 7 for 35 years. My secondary students had studied US history, but few recalled the date.
As for the last meeting of survivors, it parallels the Grand Army of the Republic:
“The final Encampment of the Grand Army of the Republic was held in Indianapolis, Indiana in 1949 and the last member, Albert Woolson died in 1956 at the age of 109 years.”
from “Brief History of the Grand Army of the Republic” at http://www.suvcw.org/gar.htm
2 Lemur // Dec 9, 2006 at 3:29 am
Even a lot of Chinese students know this day.
Pearl Harbor event was a big thing in our high school history text book.
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