Senior Experience Visits WWII Veterans at Gurwin

Last Wednesday, February 12th, the senior experience class took a field trip to the Gurwin senior living center. The purpose of the trip was to introduce the class’ next unit about WWII to the students. On the trip, students listened to WWII veterans speak about their experiences.

Mrs. Crowe, one of the two senior experience teachers, believes that the experience on the trip had a deeper effect on the students because of the personal impact of the veterans’ experiences.

The trip also consisted of a panel of the veterans who participated in a question and answer session with the students. The veterans ranged in age from 79 to 99 years old. The veterans spoke of diverse experiences ranging from enlisting to becoming drafted, and from the European theatre to the Pacific.

Senior Alex Rosenzweig spoke about his experience on the trip. “The best and most interesting part about our trip to Gurwin was learning about WWII from a primary source. These people will not be around much longer and it is crucial that we pass down their stories from generation to generation. One guy spoke about how he saw the bomb that was dropped on Nagasaki on his naval destroyer ship,”

After returning to school after their one and a half hour trip, the class watched “Flags of Our Fathers” while enjoying pizza and cookies.

The senior experience class also has other trips being planned including the Intrepid and the 9/11 memorial.