Veterans bring history to life for middle school students

[thedrifter]

Veterans bring history to life for middle school students
By Jennifer Meyer, Staff writer


John Sebern held up a photo of a group of young Marines.

“You can see my pretty face right there,” he said, causing about 10 Charles City Middle School students surrounding him to giggle.

“I was only about 20 then.”

Sebern was one of 14 veterans from all branches of service to share their experiences on Thursday with eighth-grade students during the annual activity.

“It’s a chance for (students) to really tap into history,” said teacher Mike Brummond.

Through personal stories and artifacts, veterans provide students with a view of history they won’t find in books.

The name “Sue” etched on the side of Sebern’s tin canteen cup evokes the memory of a Hawaiian woman who made “real hamburgers” the soldiers bought for 25 cents.

Photos bring to mind memories of friends made and lost, and a ring on Sebern’s right hand bears a Japanese Loyal Marine.

“It was placed on my hand in 1943 and it won’t come off till I die,” said the World War II veteran. “It was the first man I ever killed.”

A teacher in the Charles City School District for 34 years, Sebern retired in 1987. He said speaking with students allows him to continue educating.

“I try to emphasize the history of it, not the brutality of it,” he said. “I don’t go into the gory parts.”

Sebern said he taught some eighth-graders’ parents and grandparents. He said he was not much older than the 13-, 14- and 15-year-olds when he joined the Marines.

“I turned 17 in April of 1942, joined the Marine Corps the next day, I shipped out of Des Moines on May 1 — my mother’s birthday — and went to combat for the first time in November 1942,” he said.

In February 1945, Sebern was among the Marines to land at Iwo Jima, a Pacific island where an intense battle was fought with the Japanese over the next month.

“It’s probably the worst mission I’ve ever been on,” Sebern said.

“At Iwo, you didn’t get out of your fox hole ever as the first three days (went) by,” he recalled. “Nobody else could get in to help us, the weather turned bad, the volcano rumbled, they shot a big mortar — a 540 — from the other end of the island.

“I was not in fear of dying from being shot or anything ... the thing I was afraid of was the volcano was going to blow up.”

When the Marines moved on to Japan in April 1945, Sebern said he found the island better by comparison.

“I just loved Okinawa because I landed there on my birthday, it was Easter and nobody shot at me,” he said. “We went three days before we were even fired on.”

Students were “awestruck,” Brummond said, as they listened to Sebern and other veteran recount their experiences.

“It makes, I think, an indelible mark,” he said. “They will never forget this.”

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Contact Jennifer Meyer at

jenmeyer@charlescitypress.com

or (641) 228-3211, ext. 21

Ellie