[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 7]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 9648]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




 HONORING ROCKY RUN MIDDLE SCHOOL'S ``THE LATEST GENERATION MEETS THE 
                     GREATEST GENERATION'' PROGRAM

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. FRANK R. WOLF

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, June 21, 2011

  Mr. WOLF. Mr. Speaker, I recently attended a wonderful event at Rocky 
Run Middle School in Chantilly, Virginia. The program brings World War 
II veterans together with 7th grade students for one-on-one interviews 
about the veterans' experiences during war.
  The event was initiated 10 years ago by history teacher Jamie 
Sawatzky and for his efforts, he was selected as the Fairfax County 
Public Schools Teacher of the Year. Rocky Run Middle School is the only 
school in the region with this type of program.
  The event was attended by 125 World War II veterans, representing all 
branches of the Armed Forces and nearly every theater of the war. I was 
touched to hear the recollections from so many members of the 
``Greatest Generation'' who sacrificed so much to protect our nation's 
freedom. Students got to hear from Edward Connor, who served with the 
U.S. Army Air Corps in Papua, New Guinea, and Guadalcanal; Lucas 
Dargan, who served aboard a U.S. Navy destroyer in the north Atlantic 
guiding supply convoys; Donald Graul, a paratrooper with the 82nd 
Airborne Division who parachuted into Normandy on D-Day and was 
captured by the Germans, spending the rest of the war in a POW camp, 
and Richard Graff, who marched with the Army through France, Belgium, 
and Holland and met the Russian Army at the Elbe River.
  These men, and many more, volunteered their time to share their views 
with today's students. With fewer and fewer World War II veterans still 
living, I applaud the efforts of these and all veterans who share this 
living history and make their memories part of children's learning 
experience and the historical record.
  I also want to draw attention to the Rocky Run students, who 
recognize the importance of learning from previous generations. Knowing 
about one of the most traumatic episodes in world history and the 
sacrifice it required of all Americans, these students will have an 
appreciation of what it takes to preserve our nation's freedoms. The 
7th graders of Rocky Run Middle School took on a challenging assignment 
and carried it out in a fashion of which we can all be proud.
  There can be no better learning experience than combining the 
knowledge and experience of the ``Greatest Generation'' with the 
``Latest Generation.'' I hope schools across America can learn from the 
example of Rock Run Middle School in Chantilly, Virginia.

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