History Alive and Preserved at North Middle School This Week

A curious student stopped into the music room on Monday with his eyes fixed on the numerous tables filled with artifacts from every war fought by the American military.  The boy’s focus soon shifted to a display of hand grenades, and he looked as close as could he without touching them.

“You know why they make hand grenades like that?” shouted 80-year-old Korean War veteran Bob Schmitt, who was watching the young boy. “Go ahead, pick them up and tell me what’s different.”

With a smile, the boy grabbed the grenades, and as he compared the two, Schmitt marched over to him and gave him the answer to his question – after a brief history lesson of course. All the while, the boy’s imagination was running wild as Schmitt accentuated the lesson with firsthand stories from his personal experiences of war.

It was just a small example of how history is coming alive this week at North Middle School.

From 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. everday until Friday of this week, veterans from several wars will be at the school showing off their war artifacts for students and the community as a whole. It’s the 13^th year of hosting the artifacts museum, and it continues to be an annual highlight for Korean War veteran and event co-organizer Jim Kroening.

“Freedom isn’t free is what we impress on these students and those that come through the exhibit. It’s got to be earned,” Kroening said. “I’m afraid in today’s culture everyone wants something for nothing.”

Kroening and many of his fellow veterans have combined their various collections in one place for the weeklong event. Artifacts from the Civil War through the conflict in Afghanistan are out for viewing. Uniforms, weapons, photographs, books, rations are just a glimpse of the items spread over the tables that fill the room.

“This is the only school that I know of that does what you see right here,” said Schmitt looking around the room. “It’s amazing.”

While the collection of authentic memorabilia may be extensive, the treasure trove of information locked inside the minds of the men holding the event is equally vast. However, unlike the artifacts, a day will soon come when their knowledge will no longer be accessible as time continues to claim the lives of our country's veterans.

Their stories are truly what makes the artifact exhibit a must see, or perhaps, a must-listen.

Schmitt will be the first one to tell you about landing in Korea, storming the beach, and climbing a 25-foot wall to reach his goal. With tears in his eyes he’ll tell you about his good friend Richard Hock, who was wounded in Korea during the height of winter.

The shrapnel that passed through Hock’s groin would have caused him to bleed to death had it not been for the frigid weather that froze his wound closed.

Schmitt can tell you about meeting hungry children in Korea who hunted rodents for a meal. He can tell you about burying soldiers on the beach. He’ll tell you about the Chinese man he killed during battle. He’ll even point to the man’s body flag – still stained with blood – resting on the table next to other artifacts.

Or, just one table down, Frank Nerad will tell his tale of survival aboard the U.S.S. New Orleans as a Marine during World War II. The ship was dubbed the “Miracle Ship” after a torpedo blasted the front nose of the ship off. Nerad and the crew manned the ship back to Australia where it was repaired, and returned to battle.

Countless other stories are sure to surface as veterans guide you through exhibits sand each item elicits a new story or emotion. Rather than just seeing the pictures, this week is a rare chance to speak to the person who took the pictures.

“There are so many unbelievable stories among these men,” Schmitt said. “Kids like to look at the stuff, and they don’t really read the books that are out here. But these stories won’t be told forever, and people need to hear them.”

The artifacts museum is open to people of all ages from and from any community from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Organizers are hoping in future years, more schools will send classes over to view the once of a kind exhibit. The event is also free, but the knowledge from attending the event could be invaluable.

The week’s activities will culminate in a Veteran’s Day ceremony that will begin at 9 a.m. at North Middle School. The program will include patriotic musical selections by the school’s orchestra, band and choir programs, dedicated to the Veterans and their guests.

Though the majority of students will visit the artificats museum in the coming days, a small group of students were absorbed in the museum Monday. In fact, a teacher came to grab them and let them know they were 10 minutes late to their next class.

“It’s O.K., they’re learning some history right?” asked Schmitt jokingly.