West Springfield High Students Interview World War II Veterans for Memorial Database

Students from West Springfield High School (WSHS) are working with non-profit organization Friends of the National World War II Memorial to interview World War II veterans for the group's new searchable database.

According to an article on the Fairfax Times website, the database will include hundreds of veterans' stories as reported by West Springfield students. The students are working as volunteers under former West Springfield history teacher Jim Percoco, who is now the education director for Friends of the National World War II Memorial.

The students were taught basic interviewing skills and provided a list of questions to ask the veterans, whom they interview at the National World War II Memorial in Washington, DC and retirement homes such as the Greenspring retirement community in Springfield.

Greenspring is home to hundreds of veterans who served in World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War.

“I realized that I hadn’t really sat down with my kids, my grandkids, or even my wife, and shared much of what I experienced during the war,” said Greenspring resident and World War II veteran, Eck Muessig, in a blogpost by Greenspring on Patch.

The Times article states the students have interviewed about 350 veterans since last June.

“Our plan is to keep interviewing veterans until there are no more vets to interview,” Percoco told the Times.

To learn more about the effort, check out Greenspring's blog on Burke Patch.