BROOMFIELD — Until they met members of the “Greatest Generation,” students at Hulstrom Options K-8 in Northglenn never brushed up against a real-live hero.
Or at least not one like Margot Franken, who barely escaped the Nazi Holocaust in her native Germany. Or Paul Murphy, who was one of the 317 crew members who survived the sinking of the USS Indianapolis in shark-infested waters.
But then the sixth-, seventh- and eighth-graders in Michelle Pearson’s social studies classes sat down with Murphy and other World War II veterans and Franken and others touched by the war. They digitally recorded their stories for the Library of Congress and Broomfield’s own veterans museum.
The collaboration was unprecedented for a school in its scope and comprehensive nature, said Pearson. It also opened the students’ eyes to the true nature of valor.
“With these veterans, they are someone who sacrificed for others,” said 13-year-old Sara Campbell. “When you are in a war and you see people die, you have a different idea what a hero is.”
More than 200 students took part in the project that began as part of Broomfield’s 2007 One Book, One Broomfield reading program. They digitally recorded interviews for podcasts that were given to the Veterans History Project archives at the Library of Congress. They also are part of the National Park Service’s World War II Memorial Collection.
Soon, they will also be available on the iTunes website.
The students also wanted to donate the recordings of each veteran’s story to the Broomfield Veterans Memorial Museum, but the facility wasn’t equipped to handle the technology, Pearson said. These are the type of kids, she added, that don’t like roadblocks thrown in their way. “They said ‘Wait, this isn’t right.’ ”
So they applied for and received a $10,000 grant from the electronics chain Best Buy, which they shared with the museum. Since then, the museum has received three DVD players, a laptop and digital cameras, with other upgrades on the way, said museum curator Barry Hildebrandt.
Broomfield — which became home to many World War II and Korean War vets — now has a museum that properly commemorates the sacrifices of local veterans. It also can be a research tool for students at every grade level, Hildebrandt said.
“It’s been a godsend,” he said. “We are finally entering the 21st century.”
The students admit that at first it was tough establishing a rapport with the veterans, many of whom are well into their 80s.
Another problem is that many didn’t want to tell their stories. For them, their memories were private and their sacrifices in the war not worth disclosing. “Some were also so emotional,” said 14-year-old Ben Cialone. “Some got angry and sad at the same time.”
But many of the students and veterans have since formed tight bonds and the young teens have taken heed of what the vets told them.
“I told them this is a free country and in a free country you can do anything you want,” said 82-year-old Bob Seeber, a sailor on a destroyer escort in the Pacific theater. “But I also told them, don’t waste your life. Do something worthwhile and to help people.”
Monte Whaley: 720-929-0907 or mwhaley@denverpost.com
