Honoring Roger Evans and Samuel Culotta
Our study on World War II became very real today. Two of The Community School’s regular volunteers did presentations on WWII veterans that personalized our studies. Ms. Leah spoke about her husband (and Mr. Tom’s uncle) Samuel Culotta who enlisted in the Navy at the age of 17 and was part of 9 landing invasions in the Pacific during the war. Ms. Leandra spoke about her father, Roger Evans, who also enlisted at 17 and was a submariner during the war in the Pacific and ended up in a Japanese Prison Camp for over 3 years.
They shared stories, photographs, articles and artifacts of these young men who were the same age as our students.
These deeply personal and meaningful stories about courage, sacrificing for something bigger than yourself, perseverance in the face of death and unimaginable conditions touched everyone in very profound ways.
It is a goal of this school to make the curriculum come alive, to not just see or hear it, but feel it and think about how it relates to your life and understanding of the world.
We honor the memory of Roger Evans and Samuel Culotta and thank Leandra Laird and Leah Culotta for sharing them with us.