Addressing a room full of high school students, Vietnam veteran John Hoober presented the crowd with a goal for the assembly. "We hope you have a lot of questions for us," he said. "That's why we're here."

Hoober was one of seven vets from Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 1008 who spoke to students at Manheim Central High School in January. Students in grades nine through 11 in the Advanced Placement (AP) U.S. History, American History and Human Geography classes participated in the program.

"We want to give students a chance to ask us the questions they may not get answers to out of their history books," Hoober explained.

He's been organizing presentations at area schools for nine years. "We really put an emphasis on the students' questions. What do they want to know?" said Hoober, who is the head of the chapter's education committee.

At each visit, members of the chapter bring personal memorabilia such as photographs, letters and uniform pieces, which they share with students while also having time to talk one-on-one with students.

The panel then sets up for the formal program, which began at Manheim Central with each panelist giving a brief history of his involvement in the war. Panelists at the January presentation included Pat Gibson, who served as an Army medic during the Tet Offensive; chapter president Mike Kunitsky, who volunteered to go to Vietnam with the Navy; Lou Farganis, a Marine who was wounded twice in the war; and Alberto Ros, a Cuban American who enlisted before he became a U.S. citizen. Panelist Russ Hogg shared that he was the same age as some of the students in the room, just 17 years old, when he enlisted. Dan Duane recalled his years of service in the Army and then read the names of five people from Manheim who died in the war.

Speaking at schools is part of the Vietnam Veterans of America's overall mission, said Kunitzky. "We also ring bells for the Salvation Army each year," he said. "Our vice president, Bill Daley, reads the obituaries daily, and if he sees that a Vietnam vet has died, we will send the family a sympathy card through the funeral home." Chapter 1008 currently has 150 members, and membership is open to anyone who served on active duty in Vietnam between Nov. 1, 1955, and May 7, 1975, or in any duty location between Aug. 5, 1964, and May, 7, 1975.

Mary Nolt, whose AP History students participated in the program, said the presentation offered a way for students to interact with living history while enjoying a student-centered event. "The real power of the Vietnam veterans panel from Chapter 1008 lies in the variety of perspectives they bring to their talk, their historical artifacts and their desire to answer student questions," she commented. "The human element of history is what makes it so relatable and interesting, At the end of the day, history is about people, and the Vietnam veterans panel shines insight not only on the Vietnam War but on the power of the human spirit."

For more information on Vietnam Veterans of America, visit https://vva.org.