By Andrew de Souza

War stories through the eyes of students

Nov 5, 2010 | 4:19 PM

paNOW Staff

Students at St. Mary High School took honouring veterans on Remembrance Day to another level on Thursday.
After more than a year of work interviewing 25 veterans from Prince Albert and committing their stories to paper, the students presented a group from the Royal Canadian Legion with copies of their new book “Peace and War: Through the Eyes of a Student.”
The articles written by the students, chronicle the lives and experiences of the veterans.
This year’s book is the second time St. Mary students have written down what they’ve learned from veterans of the city.
History teacher and book organizer, Dennis Ogrodnick, said it’s both a way to honour veterans and also for students to learn more about war than school alone could ever teach them.
“Ever since Sept. 11, our students starting asking questions about why we went to Afghanistan, then that went into why we went into other conflicts, World War I, World War II, and why we are in peacekeeping missions. Students want to know,” said Ogrodnick.
“Textbooks can only give you so much. This is a rich description from learning about the secretary in the Navy office, to a medic to a fighter pilot flying over Nazi Germany. It’s amazing stories and textbooks just don’t tell it.”
Student Jonathan Kushueriek, who worked on last year’s book said it helped him better appreciate the value of the sacrifices made by men and women in conflicts Canada was involved in.
“We can’t forget what they did. We have to always remember because it’s really important for our freedom and our country and they’re a huge part of it,” said Kushuriek.
“You can read stuff in textbooks but you don’t get the full picture. But when you talk to the veterans and you get their experiences and their stories it just helps you understand the war more.”
The book was presented to the veterans after the school’s annual Remembrance Day ceremony. For former flight officer Lloyd Olsen, sharing stories with youth and also remembering on an annual basis is an important part of preventing wars from happening in the first place.
“If the students don’t get to know the veterans, they have no idea what war is about and what it’s like and the senseless slaughter of young men and women.
“It’s very important so they know what a terrible thing war is. We should try to avoid war at all costs if possible.”
During the ceremony, Ogrodnick was presented with a Royal Canadian Legion Friendship Medal for his efforts to raise awareness about veterans’ issues through the years.
adesouza@panow.com