Tate School fifth-graders go hands-on with history
Capt. Jeff Swanson, commanding officer with Five Oh First Group and his team of WWII re-enactors got students involved in aspects of the war.
Students were able to try on all the paratroopers’ gear, touch equipment WWII soldiers touched and ask questions about the war. They also tried on helmets, and touched weaponry from that period, such as rifles, demolition boxes, non-live ammunition, ammunition belts, walkie talkies and operational field phones.
Upon looking at the walkie talkies, students’ eyes widened when Swanson told students, “That was the cell phones of the day.”
“Swanson founded the TFOFG some 20 years ago with the goal to remember our veterans who served, capture the stories of the soldiers who participated in history at that time and educate students by giving them hands-on learning experiences,” said Tracy Van Hook, Tate School director of resources.
“When students can experience a historically accurate soldier’s story and can see and touch the soldier’s field gear, history comes to life for them,” Tate principal Kay Simmons said.
“World War II was a defining time in our nation’s history,” Swanson said. “Getting to tell these stories in front of young people is a hands-on way to help them understand the hardships during that era.”
TFOFG dressed in actual uniforms from that war to lead several stations on campus to highlight different aspects of a soldier’s life, according to Van Hook.
