Rochelle,
 
Thanks for this Veteran's Day remembrance email.  It was very touching.
 
Jackie Fletcher
MA. Dept. of Education

-----Original Message-----
From: learningdisabilities-bounces at nifl.gov
[mailto:learningdisabilities-bounces at nifl.gov]On Behalf Of Maureen Carro
Sent: Monday, November 13, 2006 3:55 PM
To: The Learning Disabilities Discussion List
Subject: [LearningDisabilities 768] Re: A Message for Veteran’s Day November
11, 2006



Rochelle, 

Thank you for sharing this thought-provoking information with us on
Veterans' Day! I have shared it with some colleagues who also have responded
to say thanks! 



On Nov 11, 2006, at 5:30 PM, RKenyon721 at aol.com wrote: 



A Message for Veteran’s Day November 11, 2006 


Love and Liberty Bridged by Literacy: 

Remembering Literacy Students and Their Teachers During World War II 


Tom Sticht 

International Consultant in Adult Literacy 


On Veteran’s Day November 11, 2006 we remember those who have fallen in wars
to protect the liberty and freedom that we all enjoy. In homes, churches,
and graveyards special ceremonies will bring back memories of loved ones who
died serving their country. 


But while tributes to special groups will be given - the battalions of the 

Army, the battle groups of the Navy, the nurses who saved the lives of some
while crying for the loss of others - one group of service members will go
largely unnoticed and unappreciated. Indeed, they were unwanted to begin
with, and only employed when the demands for fighters at the front became so
great that the military had to use them. They are the men who were called to
duty and were unable to read and write, and in many cases they were not able
to speak or understand the English language. 


In his history of the Army Training of Illiterates in World War II, Samuel 

Goldberg provides an in-depth discussion of the Special Training Units that
the Army put into operation to teach young soldiers how to read, write, and
speak the English language. He also talks about how much servicemen and
their families appreciated the military’s literacy work. 


Writing in the July 1943 issue of "Our War", a newspaper for the literacy 

students of World War II, Private Porfirio C. Gutierrez wrote: "This is my 

first letter in English. I have learned to read and write so that I can 

help protect our country." 


A mother of a soldier wrote [in original spellings and punctuation]: "dear 

sir: I thank you all for Learning My child to read and wright I don’t Know 

how to thank you all Because My child did not know nothing it is realy high
apprishated Because I did not have the time to send him to school I did not
have no husband I raised him from a Baby By my self and now I am in my old
stage and that is all my help and I thank you and I thank you when you wrote
me and siad My Boy did that I was so glad I did not Know what to do and I
realy appreshated it. Very truly Yours, M___ W___" 


Examples of letter writing were incorporated into the instructional 

materials. In "Our War"  for January 1944, the fictional Private Pete wrote 

a letter saying: "Dear Mom: … I know what I am working for in this war. I 

want everyone to be able to go to any church he chooses. I want everyone to
have enough to eat. I want to be able to say what I think without being
afraid. I want the right to do what I like. But I want to do the right
thing…" Love, Pete. 


Further examples of the deep appreciation that newly literate soldiers and
their families had for their literacy and language lessons and their 

teachers appear in a 1998 MA thesis by Marston Mischlich. He tells about 

the work of Private Arthur Neumann whose job was to teach illiterate and
non-English speaking soldiers to read and write in the Army’s Special 

Training Unit in Atlantic City, New Jersey. He writes, "Not only did this 

educational training add value to the soldiers for their units, it also 

built their self-esteem." He gives an example of how important the Special
Training Unit’s efforts were in a short letter which showed how important
the schooling was to families of the soldiers: 


"Dear Son George: 

Mother was so proud to get your letter, to think you could write a letter
yourself. I will always keep it as a remembrance. God bless the man that
taught you. It means so much to me to hear directly from you." 


Mischlick continues, "The soldiers were also grateful. One soldier wrote a
poem expressing his and probably many other men’s feelings about being given
the opportunity to gain an education." 


SOLDIER AND TEACHER 

These men are soldiers, too 

Fighting the selfsame cause 

Men who did not go to school 

They reason not, nor pause. 


These men who come from every state 


>From farm and mill and mining camp, 


Somewhat illiterate, somewhat shy, 

Are learning now of writer’s cramp. 


For there are other jobs in war 

Besides the fighting and foray; 

Like teaching school to soldier lads 

Who will return to home someday. 


They question not the how or why 

But stanchly (sic) take the task assigned 

This is their country, this their land, 

Teacher and soldier, with but one mind." 


All told, the Army taught over a quarter million young men to read, write, 

and speak the English language during World War II. No one knows how many of
these new literates fell at the fronts during the war. But they were there,
and so were many of their teachers. On Veterans Day, we remember these
special troops whose teaching helped make possible the love in letters
written and the warmth of letters read. In times of war, literacy forges the
link between the love of families and the liberty of nations. 


Thomas G. Sticht 

International Consultant in Adult Education 

2062 Valley View Blvd. 

El Cajon, CA 92019-2059 

Tel/fax: (6190 444-9133 

Email: tsticht at aznet.net 

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