Veterans make history come alive for high school students
Dick O’Brien, a sergeant in the Army during World War II, salutes on Thursday as he stands among students who interviewed him for the Living History project at Corona del Mar High School.
Corona del Mar High School sophomores got a lesson in history Thursday from those who have lived it.
The school’s Living History Luncheon invited 91 military veterans representing the eras from World War II to Iraq.
The lunch marked the conclusion of a world history project that more than 400 Corona del Mar sophomores had been working on since December.
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First, the students interviewed either a family member who served or a veteran they found through the Freedom Committee of Orange County.
“In one word, it’s ... exciting,” said Scott Williams, president of the Freedom Committee, which connects students with service members. “It’s exciting for them to share their personal history, and the first thing they notice is how involved students are when they are asking the questions.”
Students videotaped their interviews and later transcribed them.
Then they used their tapes and any video clips they were able to find of the era in which their veterans served to make short documentaries. At the end of the project, the veterans were given the documentaries.
Corona del Mar’s first Living History project was in 2000 with a panel of five World War II veterans.
Dave Lester, the only veteran among those five who is still alive, said the project has taken off since then. He was not interviewed this year but attended the lunch Thursday.
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Alex Chan, alexandra.chan@latimes.com
Twitter: @AlexandraChan10
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