Where can you find veterans of World War II, the Vietnam, Korean, and Persian Gulf Wars, as well as those that witnessed the Civil Rights movement and the 9/11 attacks?

These and almost 100 other eyewitnesses to our countries’ history can be found at one place on Wednesday, June 6^th where Rocky Run Middle School in Chantilly will be hosting its 18^th annual oral history day.  What started as a World War II based oral history program entitled the “Latest Generation Meets the Greatest Generation” has grown to encompass other events and is now known as   “iWitness to History Day.”

On this day, Rocky Run students will be conducting more than 200 small group interviews with these eyewitnesses and will also be hosting 7 large group presentations to more than 1200 students and community members in our theatre.  Included amongst our guests are:

• More than 15 Veterans from the 2^nd World War
• Civilians who were living in 6 different countries during World War II including a survivor of the Auschwitz Death Camp
• Veterans who have served in every American conflict from World War II to Afghanistan and Iraq.  These veterans will be spotlighted in a “Changing Faces of War” panel in which they will discuss how war has changed from 1941 to the present
• John Sullivan, CIA Polygraph administrator and author of two books on the topic
• Robert Shumaker served with the U.S. Navy for 36 years, most notably in Vietnam where his F8 was shot down over Northern Vietnam in 1965.  He spent the next 8 years as a prisoner of war during which time he coined the term “Hanoi Hilton.”
• Several guests who grew up behind the Iron Curtain
• George Evans who not only is a veteran of the Korean and Vietnam Wars, but he also flew Elvis during the singer’s military times!
• Eyewitnesses to the events of 9/11 at the Pentagon as well as to the attacks in New York City
• An opening ceremony featuring tributes to our guests. Included in this will be a special video presented by Rocky Run’s History Club.