Men of history tell tales of war

BY TALI ISRAELI
Staff Writer

JEFF GRANIT staff U.S. Army veteran Al Beckerman displays medals, including a Purple Heart, that he earned during his military service. Marlboro Middle School student Brian Fani takes notes during a project that brought a group of veterans to the school to discuss and record their recollections of war. Veterans relived their war experiences with students at the Marlboro Middle School, Route 520, last week.

In an effort to preserve the memories and experiences from men who fought in World War II and in the Vietnam and Korean wars, eighth-graders interviewed veterans from the U.S. Army, Air Force, Marines and Navy.

The men who participated in the project on Nov. 14 were members of Jewish War Veterans Seth Dvorin Post 972 of Manalapan-Marlboro and included Bob Abrams, U.S. Army Air Force; Julian Batlan, U.S. Army captain; Al Beckerman, U.S. Army captain; George Eininger, U.S. Army; Allan Falk, U.S. Marines captain; Al Greenberg, U.S. Army; Irving Grossman, U.S. Marines; Murray Hoffman, U.S. Navy; Mike Liebowitz, U.S. Army and a graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point, N.Y.; and Seymour Tyson, U.S. Army.

Social studies teacher Lisa Wittman said she believes this was one of the most important projects the students participated in this year. She described the interviews as experiencing living history and said hearing the firsthand accounts of the veterans will captivate the students.

“They’re not going to forget this,” she said about both the students and the veterans.

Superintendent of Schools David Abbott said this project closes the generation gap and will provide youngsters with the veterans’ wisdom, knowledge, insight and experience. Abbott said the project will help the students appreciate the sacrifices that were made for the United States and give them a different perspective on war.

“It makes our history books come alive,” the superintendent said.

Grossman said it was important for him to recount his experiences during the war because youngsters should know what happened and they should realize that freedom is not automatic.

“Freedom has a cost. Sometimes you have to bleed for freedom. Sometimes you have to die for freedom,” Grossman said.

Eighth-grader Marissa Cramer said she believes this project is important because the students are learning American history from a personal account instead of by reading about it in a textbook.

Christopher Cali said it is important that the veterans told their stories because people should not forget those who put their life on the line for the nation’s freedom.

According to Wittman, students were interested in learning about the personal relationships the veterans had with other soldiers during the war; whether the veterans were drafted or if they chose to enlist in the armed forces; and what the atmosphere and experience was like where they were stationed.

Due to current events, Wittman said the students were also intrigued to learn about the different conditions and weapons being used in the war in Iraq and in previous wars.

Students asked the veterans if they had been engaged in combat and how that felt; if they were ever wounded; and if any of their comrades died during combat.

During one interview, Liebowitz compared his initial feeling of heading off to war with the moments before playing in a football game or going to kindergarten for the first time; intensely scary at first, but after time passes you get used to it.

During another interview, Beckerman said that if going to war meant liberating people from a dictatorship, he would absolutely do it again.

After the interviews were completed, Sabrina Cortopassi said she found it interesting that most of the time the men were at war they did not use vehicles, but traveled everywhere on foot.

Carly Penner said the most intriguing thing she learned from the veterans’ stories was what a positive outlook they had even though they were fighting in a war.

The interviews with the veterans were videotaped and will be preserved in the school library on DVD as a permanent historical reference document. Each veteran will receive a copy of his interview.