Guest blog post by Yvonne Drury, Oregon Unit 4
As Stevens-Chute Unit 4 set up for our annual Memorial Day weekend poppy drive, we were prepared to meet many veterans and their families and descendants of veterans who have gone before us, as well as the general public who wish us well, thank us for what we do, and donate to help with our mission.
It was an interesting surprise when a lady stopped by to talk with us and told us about her daughter, Heather Korman, who is a teacher at a local elementary school and who annually includes a lesson about poppies. We said, “Tell us more!” She pulled out her phone and showed us pictures of the beautiful display the children had made, which included poppies made of dyed coffee filters, a picture of Lt. Col. John McCrae, and his poem, In Flanders Fields.
Before she left, we gave her our contact information and requested that she ask her daughter to call us so we could learn more about her lesson and why it is important to her — when we find little interest about patriotism and remembrance anymore in the public schools.
Not 30 minutes later, we greeted another lady with her third-grade son who stopped by our table. The boy said, “I know about the poppies and the poem.” He was one of Mrs. Korman’s students and had participated in her lesson and the creation of their poppy display. Later, we learned he was a quiet student who very seldom spoke up, but he showed great interest in what he had learned from her.
Mrs. Korman did contact us, and now we wish to share her inspirational story with our American Legion Auxiliary units across the land:
Heather Korman is a third-grade teacher at Elk Meadow Elementary School, Art Focus School, in Bend, Ore.
Her grandfather was a “90-day-wonder” who signed up to help with war efforts right after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. After his initial station in Hawaii, he moved to a few other bases until his enlistment was up. His service was the inspiration for these lessons for her students.
She first started her program with second-grade students six years ago just before Veterans Day to teach kids about the reason for two great school holidays — Veterans Day and Memorial Day.
Mrs. Korman said, “The first time I did this with second-graders, we did not do the poppies. We did optical illusion drawings of the American flag, stressing value changes to create an appearance of movement. That lesson and others that followed played off the word value and we discussed both meanings — value change in art and the valuing of our military servicemen and women.”
She added, “I would just stress the reason I teach these holidays: the historical importance, the valuing of those who protect our rights, and those who have died protecting our freedom. Respect for our branches of the military is not a political thing. It is an every American thing and regardless of the times or who you might support politically, all our soldiers deserve to know our country supports them and their sacrifices. A simple thank-you and an ‘I see you’ matters as their time and lives matter. This is what I want the kids to remember. This is why I teach it so it is not just another few days off, but rather days to stop and think and say ‘Thank you for all that we have and will continue to have.’”
She shows two videos to her students:
In the spirit of Service, Not Self, the mission of the American Legion Auxiliary is to support The American Legion and to honor the sacrifice of those who serve by enhancing the lives of our veterans, military, and their families, both at home and abroad. For God and Country, we advocate for veterans, educate our citizens, mentor youth, and promote patriotism, good citizenship, peace and security.
