COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

P.O. BOX 2120

RICHMOND, VIRGINIA 23218-2120

PRINS. MEMO NO. 21

March 2, 2004

ELEMENTARY / MIDDLE / SECONDARY

TO:	Principals
FROM:	Patricia I. Wright Assistant Superintendent for Instruction
SUBJECT:	Virginians at War History Program

On February 18, 2004, Governor Mark R. Warner announced that the educational program, Virginians at War, will be distributed to every middle and high school in Virginia. Developed by the Virginia War Memorial Foundation to honor veterans and teach history, this program presents events of World War II, the Cold War, the Korean conflict, Vietnam, and the Persian Gulf through videos that tell what happened, why it happened, and the final outcome.

The War Memorial Foundation has interviewed more than 650 Virginians, the majority of whom are from the World War II generation. The interviews of veterans participating in the same event are presented, along with historic film, photographs, graphics, music, and animated maps, to provide a historic account of the event in 15-20 minutes. These programs are correlated to the Virginia Standards of Learning (SOL) and are accompanied with a classroom instructors guide, written with the guidance of the Department of Education, that includes introductions to each program, lists SOL sections covered by the program, and discussion questions.

Volume 1, which contains the first six programs of Virginians at War, is being distributed to all middle and high schools statewide in February 2004. This volume includes the following World War II programs: Pearl Harbor, China-Burma-India Theater, Prisoners of War: Europe, D-Day-Normandy, Iwo Jima, and Bill Hulcher: A Young Man Goes to War. The War Memorial Foundation is already working on Volume II, which will include programs on World War II, Korea, and Vietnam. It is expected to be completed and distributed early in 2005.

Chairman of the War Memorial Foundations Board of Trustees, Delegate Frank D. Hargrove, Sr., said, Our goal was to create a hard-hitting, fast-paced audiovisual program that is correlated to the Virginia Standards of Learning and that is easy for classroom instructors to use. Initial response from both students and teachers in our pilot tests was overwhelmingly positive. We are very proud that this award-winning program is the first of its kind in the nation and that it has been developed with private funding.

For additional information, contact Jon Hatfield (jhatfield@vawarmemorial.org), executive director for the Virginia War Memorial Foundation, at (804) 786-2060 or mail to 621 South Belvidere Street, Richmond, Virginia, 23220-6504. You may also contact Colleen C. Bryant (cbryant@mail.vak12ed.edu), history and social science specialist, at (804) 786-4640.

JLD/CCB