IN THE CLASSROOM:Soldiers’ stories

Emily Morris learned a great deal about veterans for her project at Corona del Mar High School. For one thing, she learned that she had one in the family.

The 10th-grader had recently been assigned to interview a veteran for her English class, which was in the midst of reading John Knowles’ wartime novel “A Separate Peace.” Then her great-uncle came to visit from the East coast and told her that he had fought with the U.S. Army in Korea. Emily’s group filmed an interview with him, and their DVD was one of more than 50 that the Corona del Mar sophomore class handed in last week.

“He told us he thinks about the war every day of the week,” said Emily, 15.

For the last three years, Corona del Mar students have expanded their World War II studies by compiling the stories of veterans from different wars. The project culminates with a luncheon and a video presentation in the school gymnasium, with the veterans and their student interviewers in attendance.

On Thursday, the school presented this year’s round of recollections. Students showed a video in which their classmates reflected on learning about war from those who had been there, while a number of veterans — including Corona del Mar High teacher Gary Mathieson, who recently fought in Iraq — made remarks.

English teacher Debbie Sidler, who coordinated the project with community service specialist Denise Weiland, said she did it to connect students with current events as much as with history.

“The tie-in for our students is knowing what it’s like to go off to war,” she said. “The students may be going through that now with the war in Iraq going on. They may be going to college, though, and we want them to understand what it could be like not to have that choice.”

Sidler and Weiland found many of the interview subjects through the Freedom Committee of Orange County, which unites veterans from a number of wars. Jack Hammett, a survivor of the attack on Pearl Harbor, gave the keynote address at the Thursday luncheon.

“You are the future leaders of this country, and it won’t be long before you’re making decisions about how this country is going to be run,” Hammett told the audience.

A number of students said the worlds their veterans described bore little resemblance to the present day.

Laura Bilder, whose group interviewed World War II pilot Dan Huston, heard stories about young men who raced to enlist after Pearl Harbor — a far cry from many recent wars that incited peace marches instead.

“He talked about how long the line was,” said Laura, 15. “He said you would think they were giving away free money.”