Military memories landing in new schoolbooks

Sierra Vista Herald/Bisbee Review ^

[SandRat]

TIPP CITY, Ohio — When 83-year-old Edmund Jackson uses a hand trimmer to clip the grass, one of the 22 pieces of shrapnel in his right arm dances under the skin of his wrist.

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The schoolbook program is designed to spark greater interest in history by giving students an emotional connection to it and showing them it’s made by real people like themselves.

[SandRat]

New schoolbooks focus on veterans

Books by the American Veterans Institute being used or planned for use in the classroom:

• “Welcome Home Grandpa,” about a former Air Force pilot who gives his granddaughter a lesson in patriotism during a parade. Based on Mike Jackson, a Vietnam War veteran and president of the institute.

• “My Neighbor is a Caterpillar,” Edmund Jackson’s World War II account of being wounded and bailing out of a B-24 bomber, then evading capture in German-occupied Yugoslavia for 32 days.

• “My Mother Wears Combat Boots,” about a girl whose mother is serving in Iraq.

• “A Sparkler for Allison,” story being written that addresses Independence Day in a kid-friendly way. The institute plans to use first-person written accounts from Revolutionary War soldiers.

• “A Day of Memories,” a book being written that explains the purpose of Memorial Day through the story of a Civil War veteran.

• “Poppa Is A Citizen Soldier,” a story currently in outline form that will focus on a family whose father serves in the National Guard.

On the Net:

• American Veterans Institute:

http://www.americanveteransinstitute.org/

• Veterans History Project:

http://www.loc.gov/vets/