Mepham students collect war veterans' tales
Mepham High School students, Phil Chasan, left, 17, of Bellmore, films the interview while Brandon Gimpelman, 17, of North Bellmore, interviews Harold Koenig, of Seaford, about being a staff sergeant in the Air Force, as part of the Lehrman Institute of American History Scholarship Program, where students receive a unique history lesson through local veterans at Mepham High School in Bellmore. (Jan. 17, 2012) Credit: Newsday / Jessica Rotkiewicz
In knots of three or four, Mepham High School seniors gathered in the cafeteria Tuesday for a history lesson on modern wars, delivered by veterans themselves.
Phil Chasan of Bellmore and his classmate Brandon Gimpelman of North Bellmore, both 17, wanted to know what motivated Harold Koenig, 79, to join the Air Force during the Korean War.
The teens also were curious about what basic training was like for the Seaford resident.
"It's amazing. It's like meeting history," Chasan said afterward. "He's the embodiment of the things we have been learning for the past three years."
The American history students, 16 in all, are collecting and archiving veterans' stories for the Library of Congress.
The teens are used to classroom lectures by their teacher, Kerry Dennis. But spending time with six veterans -- from World War II to Vietnam -- proved to be an emotional experience.
"You're not just learning from textbooks or from someone who's preaching it in front of a class. You're learning from someone who experienced it firsthand," said Grant Kiefer, 17, of North Merrick.
Credit for the oral history project goes to Kelly Soel, a registered nurse whose work at North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System put her in touch with the veterans, she said. Soel, whose daughter attends Mepham High, approached school officials with the idea.
In a month or two, the students will submit their video recordings to the Library of Congress, which has an ongoing history project that collects personal accounts of American war veterans.
"It's important that the next generation, and the generation after that, know what happened," said Mel Breshin, an Army captain during the Vietnam War.
During Tuesday's interview, Keith Uril, 17, and Sonya Ponton, 18, both of Bellmore, wanted to know who Breshin's friends were during the year and a half he was stationed in South Korea in the Vietnam War era. Next question: How did he keep in touch with family in New York?
Breshin, 67, said he sent his parents audiotapes because the phone was "very expensive."
"Did they send you back audiotapes?" Uril asked.
"It was more one-way communication," Breshin said.
At the end of the interview, the dentist from Plainview applauded Uril and Ponton.
"Their questions were good and right to the point, and I thank them," Breshin said. "I am giving them a grade of A-plus."
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Out East with Doug Geed: Wine harvests, a fish market, baked treats and poinsettias NewsdayTV's Doug Geed visits two wineries and a fish market, and then it's time for holiday cheer, with a visit to a bakery and poinsettia greenhouses.
