Small Press & Self-Published Books about WWII

ALAN Review, Fall 2004 by Broz, Bill

Occasionally students invited grandparents or great grandparents to visit the classroom to share their experiences, and I was always on the lookout for community members who might be willing to come to school. That's why I cut out a letter to the editor one September day and stuck it in the December pages of my desk calendar. The letter-writer mentioned in passing that he was a WWII veteran. He sounded like an articulate person, and I thought I might give him a call when we were reading Night and Maus and The Cage and Farewell to Manzanar and the dozens of other titles students would chose from.

That phone call went something like this: "Mr. Yellin? You don't know me, but I teach eighth grade English and reading here in Fairfield. I saw a letter to the editor you wrote a few months ago that indicated you are a WWII vet. My students and I are reading books about the war, and I wondered if you'd be interested in visiting one or more classes. ..."

Jerry Yellin, whose WWII experiences included flying off Iwo Jima to escort bombers to Tokyo, did come to class that year. It turned out that he had just written about his story in a book called Of War and Weddings. Over the years, he continued to visit, and he has brought dozens of copies of his book for our classroom collections. He has brought videotape and photographs. He has even brought two vintage P-51 airplanes to our little local airport to demonstrate strafing maneuvers as 150 eighth graders watched, shading eyes from the sun, holding ears to muffle the roar of the low flying Mustangs. This veteran has spoken with hundreds if not thousands of Fairfield students by now, as well as with students in other schools in Iowa and in other states. Every time he does, he brings history to life. His memory of his war years is crystal clear. His analysis of his feelings and beliefs, both then and now, is insightful and wise. His hope for the future is bright, and it is reflected back to him in the thoughtful and hopeful eyes of thirteen-year-olds who are at an age where they are both realistic and idealistic about the future.

For Jerry Yellin, now 80 years old, the invitation to speak to school children led to very significant experiences:

I had never given much thought to my status as a veteran in the eyes of youth until I was asked to speak to eighth grade classes in a middle school. That experience opened my eyes to my own youth and the general lack of interest I had in hearing about WW 1 from my uncles who had served. I wondered if the generation I would be speaking to would feel the same about me as 1 felt about vets from the First World War. I learned that being a war veteran was important to the students and sharing my experiences with them was meaningful. Many of them had grandparents who served who had never spoken about their experiences. Because 1 came to their classes they had something to say to or ask of their grandparents. This opened up dialogue that gave understanding to the students of what war and the effects of war had on all of us who served.