THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, May 6, 1995 TAG: 9505060298
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY TONYA WOODS, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 65 lines
Children who took television, video games and quiet nights for granted have a new appreciation for their favorite things.
They have World War II to thank for it.
``It would be a bummer to be without those things,'' said Heather Syran, an 11-year-old sixth grader at Blair Middle School. ``But we would have done the best we could.''
Nearly, 2,000 students from Hampton Roads learned about sacrifice Friday during Home Front Days, a commemoration Friday at the MacArthur Memorial in Norfolk. The event was timed to coincide with the anniversary of V-E Day on Monday.
``The 50th anniversary of WWII is passing by,'' said Preston Burton, education coordinator at the memorial. ``We celebrate V-E Day and V-J Day, but back here at home people were feeling (the) effects of the war and we wanted to bring out some of the more creative things of that.''
About 50 schools and 17 community organizations in Hampton Roads took part in the event through World War II displays, songs and dances from the '40s, and correspondence with students in France and Germany.
Heather Shannon, 15, a sophomore at Norview High School, wrote a letter to a fictitious American soldier in the European theater for her American Studies class.
``We've been studying the war and that helped a lot when it was time to write the letters,'' she said. ``We had to write them as authentically as we could.''
Her classmates wrote letters to fictitious husbands, boyfriends, friends and even some grandfathers. Through the assignment, the students also learned how letters were censored to ensure no information about the war was circulated.
Today's children heard stories about purchasing food items like hamburger, butter and carrots in limited amounts through government rationing.
Quanda Braithwaite, 19, a senior at the Norfolk Vocational Technical Center, is thankful she didn't have to endure such hardship.
``If you needed something and didn't have enough stamps to buy it with, you had to go without,'' she said.
Some children heard World War II stories straight from those who lived them.
``It was really neat talking to him,'' said Roberto Golfe, 11, a sixth-grader at Blair Middle School in Norfolk who spoke with a veteran. ``He told me a lot about the kinds of weapons they fought with and how he hurt his knee during the war.''
The commemoration gave the students a feel for the times, but they acknowledged they may never fully appreciate them.
``When we saw a video of WWII in class, it was strange to us,'' Braithwaite said. ``We're not used to seeing that. We're not used to war.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photo by MARTIN SMITH-RODDEN, Staff
Norfolk preschool and kindergarten classes entertained from a mobile
stage Friday morning during the opening ceremonies at the MacArthur
Memorial. At right, Michelle Jeitner, 6, of Willoughby Elementary
School (Norfolk) joined in waving the flag during a song.
KEYWORDS: WORLD WAR II by CNB