World War II Memories
Sixth Grade Social Studies, Fall 2005
Marguerite Ames, Sixth Grade Teacher

Last fall, 6th graders from Marion Cross School wrote essays about friends, family members, and neighbors whose lives were touched by World War II. Based on interviews, the essays provide snapshots of life in the early 1940s, from Indonesia to Newfoundland, from Senatobia, Mississippi, to Perthshire, Scotland. Included are the recollections of a little girl who survived a death camp as well as those of a small boy living in Norwich who collected scrap metal, listened to the radio for news, and whose father served in the Home Guard. There are the stories of brothers and sisters who experienced the war years in very different ways. Young men who were unable to enlist for active military duty share how they served their country and communities, and brides describe how life changed for them while their husbands were serving overseas.

After Pearl Harbor, many young men enlisted in the service, sometimes directly from high school or college, some, but not all, out a sense of honor or duty. However, serving in the military did not always mean shouldering a rifle. Interviews revealed the roles of censors, members of the Signal Corps and medics, WAVES and WAFs, in addition to those of pilots, sailors, soldiers, and marines. Some served stateside, while others were sent to North Africa, Europe, or the South Pacific. As with all testimonies of wartime, there are remembrances of danger, death, injury, and capture, of cold and of hunger, as well as of liberation and ultimate victory.

In addition to exposing students to the diversity of human experience during World War II, these interviews offered something equally valuable: a direct link with a past rapidly disappearing from living memory. For some this link was a family member or friend; for others it was an individual who was, at first, a stranger. Without exception, students gained a sense that individuals carry a past that can neither be gleaned at first glance nor, truly, imagined. Hopefully, the transmission of memories from one generation to another will help ensure that the events of the past will remain a vital part of the collective consciousness of this and future generations.

To go along with their book, a small group of students selected and interpreted artifacts for an exhibition on World War II at the Norwich Historical Society.