A most cruel robbery committed by the virus

Michael Sapraicone, BridgeTower Media Newswires

The Americans who fought during World War II have been robbed by COVID-19.

What should have been be a yearlong acknowledgment of the sacrifice, courage, and valor required to confront and defeat enemies of civilization 75 years ago has been put aside. Those observances are yet one more victim of America’s necessary isolation designed to break the back of this hateful pandemic.

At the Museum of American Armor in Old Bethpage, ghost-like statues commissioned to honor our armed forces remain in their shipping containers with no new date scheduled for their installation. A high school field program designed to provide 1,500 students with a hands-on appreciation of World War II studies was cancelled for the year. A World War II Encampment weekend that would traditionally welcome nearly 10,000 people at a Nassau County park over three days is off the calendar.

While the loss of these events, and other tributes by various government and veterans organizations, is understandable, it has eliminated what would have been a unique and powerful milestone meant to reach generations of Americans who do not know of the legacy of freedom bequeathed to them. When you realize that some 16 million Americans served during that conflict, you begin to understand the enormity of the debt we owe them.

This, the 75th anniversary of the end of that war, was dedicated to honoring them, most of whom are no longer with us. It is now passing with little notice between COVID-19’s aftershocks and our collective attention deficit disorder when it comes to our nation’s heritage.

Our lack of engagement about historic events and the very heroes in our family starts in the classroom. Teaching history has been marginalized in New York State and across the country, with a survey conducted by the American Council of Trustees and Alumni (ACTA) revealing just how painful that ignorance is. It found that a quarter of Americans didn’t know that D-Day occurred during World War II and less than half knew that Franklin Delano Roosevelt was president during that time. An earlier survey found that a quarter of the students asked couldn’t identify Adolf Hitler.

Will the COVID-19 experience change our ability to educate students regarding this seminal conflict, and literally every other aspect of our nation’s history? Most definitely. We need to appreciate with a quarter of this school year now being conducted remotely, the very role of the traditional classroom may change. Consider the remarks of New York’s governor.

In a recent COVID-19 briefing, Andrew Cuomo wondered aloud what the future educational environment may look like. It is rare that the governor states anything casually, so the implications are considerable when he noted, “One of the areas we can really learn from is education because the old model of our education system where everyone sits in a classroom is not going to work in the new normal...”

With schools shuttered through June, and no one predicting what September may look like, the governor asked, “. ...you (have) ...  all across the city, all across the state, all these buildings, all these physical classrooms...Why? With all the technology you have?”

That potential seismic shift in where and how students are educated allows one to access the enormous power of existing online links that present World War II studies. Currently there are millions around the world who engage in online gaming that has introduced tactical combat scenarios from World War II. Combine those experiences with an academic curriculum and remote learning and you can reestablish the importance of teaching history and why World War II in particular still matters.

Between now and September, to mark the date when the Japanese signed the instruments of surrender on the battleship Missouri, any number of World War II related 75th anniversary dates will pass, most unnoticed, as we travel a road of recovery from COVID-19. We let these dates go by at our own risk, addressing the urgent while ignoring the important. Who we are as a nation, capable of withstanding this pandemic, is part of the legacy left by the men and women who fought on behalf of freedom three quarters of a century ago.

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Michael Sapraicone is a trustee of the Museum of American Armor and founder, president and CEO of Squad Security.