OPINION: Keep teaching Pearl Harbor's lessons
Andrew Parton is executive director of the Cradle of Aviation Museum in East Garden City.
Nearly 70 years later, the lessons of Pearl Harbor are left to historians and aging veterans to debate and ponder. And yet, particularly as the president sends more troops into harm's way in Afghanistan, they are as relevant and compelling to us now as they were the morning of that devastating attack.
Across the country a literal handful of remembrances will be held, including a ceremony at the Pinelawn National Cemetery conducted by AMVETS Post 88 on Sunday, and another at the American Airpower Museum at Republic Airport, convened by the Long Island chapter of the Air Force Association, on Monday, Dec. 7.
In an era of iPods and text messaging, of bloggers and digital simulations, the reality of what it takes to preserve, defend and protect this democracy has become a remote and blurred vision. As we fight two wars with an all-volunteer military, few understand the sacrifices required to serve in today's armed forces. Fewer still appreciate our history, even as our nation has confronted mortal threats to its survival.
Nevertheless, the anniversary of Pearl Harbor has been allowed to become just one more date that is noted in textbooks and superficially mentioned in the classroom.
Without a meaningful understanding of that cataclysmic attack in Hawaii and the events that followed, there can be no genuine appreciation of what those rows of graves at Pinelawn, Calverton and other national cemeteries truly mean. As a nation at war, we do not have the luxury of dismissing those lessons as irrelevant. We should use the Pearl Harbor anniversary as an opportunity to create an educational initiative that will improve the historic literacy of our young people.
Curriculum mandates originate in Albany, and it is there that our state lawmakers should petition the Board of Regents to review how World War II is taught in our classrooms. It's an easy argument to make; this seminal conflict defined the world going forward and not a day goes by that our nation isn't touched by its legacy.
Expanding the time devoted to this conflict would come at a time when educational surveys continue to find that our young people are only dimly aware of the forces that have shaped and directed our nation's path. The intent is not to glorify the horrors of conflict but to broaden our students' understanding of how conflicts occur.
Many aviation museums throughout New York State have created a coalition to better integrate their approach to education and presentation. Together, we have sought to overcome the digital distractions that dim our collective understanding of our past. At a time when school budgets are cutting field trips, we need to make every museum visit count, creating intergenerational opportunities that encourage parents and grandparents to play a role in elevating historical literacy among young students.
As part of that effort, teachers should be encouraged to invite veterans into the classroom through a coordinated program to create a first-person appreciation of what our military forces have accomplished on our behalf. From World War II through 60 years of armed conflict, our military history reminds us that our veterans have a powerful story to tell of courage and valor. The History Channel has sought to leverage its national platform to build on such a program, but it will be departments of education that ultimately make those decisions. They need to be publicly encouraged to do so.
The Pearl Harbor anniversary represents much to those who appreciate how history is created. Strategic miscues, tactical miscalculations, differing cultures, discarded intelligence information and simple fate all play a role in defining our world. And at the end of the day, it always has been up to the American citizen soldier to answer the call. How could we not spend more time in the classroom teaching the lessons of Pearl Harbor and all that followed? By doing so, we honor the sacrifice of our armed forces and the strength that endures within our democracy.
