By Jessica Robison
Moapa Valley Progress
Two members of the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Post 8336 visited Moapa Valley High School last week to talk to seniors in the school’s Government classes. This annual visit has taken place for the last five yearsin celebration of Memorial Day.
Senior Master Sergeant David Fox, who is a WWII veteran, has given a presentation at the high school each of those years.
“I enjoy being a representative for the VFW and American Legion,” he said. “I also like to be with the younger people and give them feelings of what it was like to live in the ‘30s and ‘40s.”
Fox told the students about his experiences living during the time of the Great Depression, the Dust Bowl, and the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.
Fox was enlisted into the service when he was seventeen years old. He went into the U.S. Navy but spent six months sick in the hospital. By the time he was well enough to continue his service, the war was over. But he then spent 27 years in the Navy and is a veteran of Korea and Vietnam.
Petty Officer 2nd Class Ralph Healy also attended with Fox. This was his first time in doing this presentation for high school seniors.
“I enjoyed the experience,” he said. “The students were attentive, well mannered, and interested in what we had to say.”
Healey recalled what it was like to be a child during WWII. “We were often left at home without any supervision because our brothers and parents had gone to war,” he said. “There was no male figure in the house and the women had to leave too to go find work. The children were left alone at home.”
Healy was also seventeen when he went to war. He joined the Navy and served in Vietnam for six years.
“I think it’s great that they come in and talk to us,” Cooper said. “A lot of times, we forget what other people went through so it’s great to hear their experiences. Then, we won’t forget all that happened or take advantage of what they did for us. I’m grateful that they are willing to make time and come by to talk to us.”
