Day of infamy forgotten in schools

By Emily Richmond (contact)

Friday, Dec. 6, 2002 | 11:06 a.m.

President Franklin Roosevelt said Dec. 7, 1941, was a day that would live in infamy, but as far as most of Clark County's schools are concerned, the 61st anniversary of Pearl Harbor has been all but forgotten.

There are no official ceremonies or memorials in the Clark County School District to mark what was the most devastating attack on U.S. soil by a foreign power.

As the "Greatest Generation" fades and younger generations grapple with the post-Sept. 11 era, the emphasis once placed on the watershed event continues to slip away.

"It's sad to see, but it doesn't surprise me much," said Las Vegan Tommy McLaughlin, who was a 19-year-old sailor when the Japanese attacked the U.S. naval stronghold on the Hawaiian island of Oahu. "Americans can remember the most trivial gossip forever but when it comes to something that's really important to us as a nation, we forget."

The surprise attack by Japanese forces left more than 2,300 Americans dead and devastated America's Pacific fleet. It also marked the United State's entry into World War II.

The Clark County School District's curriculum calls for students to be introduced to Pearl Harbor as part of history studies in the fifth grade. The topic is supposed to be revisited in seventh, 10th and 11th grades history classes.

Heidi Kern, a sophomore at Cimarron Memorial High School in northwest Las Vegas, said Thursday she first encountered Pearl Harbor last year -- not in a classroom, but at the movies. Kern said while watching the blockbuster "Pearl Harbor" she immediately made a connection to her own feelings after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

"Sometimes people need to have something like Pearl Harbor or Sept. 11 happen to remind them how precious life is," Kern said. "The movie seemed more real because I knew stuff like that could really happen."

Agustin Orci, deputy superintendent of instruction for the Clark County School District, said there is no official reminder to educators to mark the anniversary although some take it upon themselves to do so.

"Pearl Harbor has gone the way of a historical event that's beyond most people's realm of recognition," Orci said. "If it's talked about all now, it's usually in the context of Sept. 11."

Alice Lawson, who teaches seventh-grade social studies at Thurman White Middle School in Henderson, said she will use part of her class time today to discuss Pearl Harbor even though her students won't be studying the event until next month.

Lawson said she doubted many of her students -- or their parents, for that matter -- would know in advance that tomorrow is the anniversary of Pearl Harbor.

"People don't look back on the past as much as I'd like, but then I'm a history teacher," Lawson said. "The reality is that there's a lot of other stuff going on right now in the world, in our country, in their own families, that they need to focus on, and that's understandable."

Pearl Harbor shouldn't be allowed to fade into the pages of history books, said Ed Gobel, president of the Council of Nevada Veterans Organizations.

"Everyone talks about the heroes of 9-11, but they don't tell their children about the people who deliberately put their lives in on the line in the name of freedom," said Gobel, a Vietnam War veteran.

To that end, Gobel said his organization is working closely with the school district to promote Bill of Rights Day, which falls on Dec. 15.

"We need to go back to the very beginning, to the document this country was based on," Gobel said. "We want a copy of the Bill of Rights and the Constitution in every classroom. Then students will have a better appreciation for the sacrifices that have been made to keep this country free."