What History Means To Me

2003 Winning Essay, High School

History is a glimpse into the past as it grounds us in the present and is a template as we journey into the future. Each decision we make moves us a step at a time. At times, this travel is with a defined step, and other times the steps are convoluted. Our past is a known entity, our present still evolving, and our future yet to be decided.

"We Interrupt This Program... Words That Changed Lives" was the title I chose for a National History Day paper that I wrote three years ago. The paper focused on the bombing of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, which led the United States into World War II. Little did I realize how those words would change my perspective on history.

I wrote about the bombing of Pearl Harbor because it was one of the top ten news events of the twentieth century. Initially, I was not very motivated about this project. After all, the bombing of Pearl Harbor happened over sixty years ago. How could something so far in America's past affect me today? My research began in the usual way. I located books and magazine articles written about World War II at my public library. There was an abundance of material available on this topic. After checking out all of the books I could carry, I decided that it might be an interesting approach to talk to people who were alive at the time of the bombing of Pearl Harbor and discover how the event affected their lives. I decide to focus on men who served in the military during World War II. To understand the present we need to study the past, and from that knowledge we can prepare for and embrace the future.

I called the Veterans of Foreign Wars office in my hometown to obtain names of veterans who might be willing to recall their World War II memories for an eighth grader. I was given the names of several men as possible interviewees. To my surprise, each one was delighted to talk with me about his memories. I was not a seasoned interviewer, so I was anxious about interviewing them. After all, I was still doing my research and reading about World War II, so I was not an expert on the subject. A planned twenty-minute interview quickly turned into a two-hour conversation.

The first question I asked each veteran focused on where he was and what he was doing when he heard the news that the Japanese had bombed Pearl Harbor. Each man I interviewed remembered exactly what he was doing at the time he heard the news of the attack. As I listened to their stories, I developed a greater appreciation for the impact the bombing had had on their lives. But it was not until Sept. 11, 2001, that I really understood the full impact of the words, "We interrupt this program," and what they would mean to me. Just as the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor interrupted the lives of millions of Americans in 1941, lives were once again interrupted because of terrorist attacks sixty years later. Just as each veteran remembered where he was and what he was doing years ago, I remember exactly where I was and what I was doing when news of the terrorist attacks was reported. The World War II veterans heard the news on the radio; I watched the news and devastation on television. I was fifteen years old in 2001, and the men I interviewed were nineteen years old in 1941. On the morning of September 11, I felt the full impact of the words, "We interrupt this program." The veterans had felt shock, anger, and sadness. Much to my surprise, I felt the same emotions sixty years later. Not only was this program interrupted, but also the lives of everyone watching and listening were interrupted and changed – forever.

Today, when I read about World War II, I do not just see words on a page. I see the faces and hear the voices of Robert, Al, Earl, and Bob as they recounted their personal and private memories. They are my past, and I am their future. We all travel the same road. History is about people and the events that shape and change our lives.

by S. Sellers
Sponsoring Teacher: H. Peterson
Kansas