Every day across the nation, an average of 131 U.S. veterans of history’s most consequential war die.
The ranks of 16.4 million Americans who served during World War II were down to 119,550 at the end of last year, including 2,059 in Connecticut, according to the National World War II Museum.
U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Connecticut, who spoke recently in Newtown at a WWII veteran’s 101st birthday celebration, said teachable moments about the fight against Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan have been lost.
“Our kids today know so little history — and even less than their knowledge is their appreciation of the sacrifice necessary to keep our country free,” Blumenthal said in a recent interview.
History can be taught much more vividly and effectively by actual participants, he said, if only more schools would invite veterans into classrooms.
“We’re losing them. We’re losing that teaching moment,” Blumenthal said. “And it’s tragic for the country because it detracts from our democracy if young people fail to appreciate how rare and valuable democracy is.”
Glimpses of War
The Veterans History Project at Central Connecticut State University, part of a federal program that Congress created in 2000, has archived hundreds of interviews with Connecticut veterans from World War I through the recent wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Of the 800 featured veterans, about half served in World War II, program co-manager Brian Matzke said.
“Every…
