Memorial Day is a solemn day of reflection about those who have given their lives to ensure our freedoms, For me, this means honoring my former student, Corporal Jonathan Castro.  Photo credit: US Army.

Memorial Day: For many, this end-of-May holiday marks the beginning of summer vacation, bringing with it sunny days, a break from school responsibilities, the chance to sleep in late, and time to have tons of fun. Many use the extended weekend to enjoy a quick trip to the river, spend a day at the beach, plan a family barbecue, or indulge in a baseball game with friends. For teachers, the three-day weekend offers an opportunity to rest up before that final push that ends the school year. But while indulging, it’s important to remember the true purpose of the holiday: Remembering and honoring the men and women who have paid the ultimate price in order that the rest of us may enjoy our freedoms.

For me, whenever Memorial Day rolls around, one of the soldiers I remember and honor is US Army Corporal Jonathan Castro.

When he was my student in my Language Arts class for seniors at Centennial High School in Corona, California, Jonathan Castro stood out for me, mostly because he was the son of my fellow teacher and friend. But he would have been memorable in his own right. He was intelligent, studious, and ambitious, which are characteristics that any teacher appreciates. But, in addition to this, his interactions with me were always polite, he was a good buddy to the fellows, and he treated the girls with respect, which are characteristics everyone can appreciate.

When he graduated in 2001, Jonathan declared his intention to pursue a career as an engineer. His parents were willing and able to pay for his college education, but the young man wanted to spare them the expense and make his own way. He declared his intention to join the US Army before enrolling in college. He wanted to pay for his own education through the GI Bill. So the summer after his graduation, he enlisted, signing up for a three-year stint. That was just before the 9/11 attacks, and the subsequent US invasion in Iraq.

Jonathan was 21 years old when he was sent to Mosul, Iraq, with the 73^rd Engineer Company, 1^st Brigade, 25^thInfantry Division. On December 21, 2004, the young warrior sat down with his buddies to eat his lunch at the Army dining tent on base. As he was dining, a suicide bomber who had infiltrated the base undetected entered the tent and detonated the explosives strapped to his body. The resulting blast immediately killed 22 people, 18 of them American soldiers. One of them was Jonathan Castro.

Jonathan was laid to rest at Riverside National Cemetery. Frankly, the service offered little in the way of closure or comfort to the fallen soldier’s family and friends. I was only his teacher, but I felt, and I still feel, the loss in a profound way. And I can’t even begin to describe how the death of her only child devastated his family.

Memorial Day, 2021, marks the seventeenth year that memories of this remarkable young soldier have dominated my thoughts. I contemplate the awesome courage of our warriors, the widespread ravages of combat, the staggering waste of life on both sides, the so-called glory of war, and the enormous gratitude I feel to those who are willing to suffer the sacrifice, not only the men and women in the military, but also their families. The phrase “Thank you for your service,” which we utter so often to the survivors, doesn’t even begin to compensate for such a gift.

To read more about Jonathan, see this article published by the LA Times.

Author Terry Lee Marzell is excited to learn that both of her books have been added to the collections of prestigious university libraris. Photo credit: Terry Lee Marzell.

I always get excited when I learn that one of my books has been added to the collection of a prestigious university library. A search of WorldCat reveals that both of my books, Chalkboard Champions and Chalkboard Heroes, have been added to the collections of prestigious university libraries.

My first book, Chalkboard Champions (2012), part of the collection of the libraries at the University of Arizona, Tucson; University of Hawaii at Manoa in Honolulu, Hawaii; the City University of New York in New York, New York; and Berea College in Berea, Kentucky. The volume is also part of the collection of the libraries of Winona State University in Winona, Minnesota; the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg, Mississippi; and the State University of New York in Oswego, New York. The book is also available at Hunter College in New York, New York; Queensborough Community College Library in Bayside, New York; Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey; Salem State University in Salem, Massachusetts; and the University of the Pacific in Stockton, California. In addition, it is also part of the collection of the Library of Congress in Washington, DC.

Chalkboard Heroes (2015) has been added to the collections of the Autry Museum of the American West in Los Angeles, California; Chadron State University in Chadron, Nebraska; the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg, Mississippi; and the University of Chicago Library in Chicago, Illinois. The volume can also be found in the Alaska State Library in Juneau, Alaska; Earlham College in Richmond, Indiana; and Central Connecticut State Library in New Britain, Connecticut.

Many thanks to all these university libraries for honoring my work!

Author and retired educator Terry Lee Marzell visits the cabin once inhabited by celebrated author Jack London while he was living in Alaska. The cabin was disassembled, moved, and rebuilt in Oakland, California. Terry is flanked by her little dog, Kurby, on the right, and the famous wolf statue at left. Photo credit: Hal Marzell

Many teachers lead their students through a study of the excellent novels written by celebrated author Jack London. Novels popular for classroom study include Call of the Wild, White Fang, and Sea Wolf. Teachers might be interested to know that the log cabin once inhabited by London while he was living in Alaska can be visited at two  different locations, one in California and the other in Canada.

Jack London’s original cabin was built on the North Fork of Henderson Creek south of Dawson City, in the heart of Klondike territory, just prior to the Gold Rush of 1898. London abandoned his cabin after the area’s Gold Rush fever faded. The small-scale structure was later discovered by trappers who observed the author’s signature scrawled on the wall.

In 1965, the cabin was dismantled and two replicas were constructed from the original logs. One was reconstructed in Dawson City, a town in the Canadian territory of the Yukon. The other was built in Oakland, California, where it was re-assembled at Jack London Square. Why Oakland? Jack London was born and raised there. Today, visitors can visit the cabin where it sits along Oakland’s waterfront at Jack London Square. There is no fee.

To learn more about the cabin, see this article published by the Jack London Museum written by Canadian historian and columnist Kenneth Spotswood.

I was an 8-year-old school child when Persident John F. Kennedy was assassinated. On that day, my third grade teacher made everyone in our class go to the window to watch the school’s flag lowered to half-mast in solemn remembrance. My view of the flag from the classroom window looked very much like this.

Today, once again we observe the anniversary of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. As an individual old enough to remember this historical event, this observance triggers a strong and vivid memory of that painful day.

As an eight-year-old, I spent that day in my third grade elementary class. My fellow classmates and I had gone out to lunch. The school yard rang with the happy outbursts of girls playing hopscotch and boys playing dodge ball. We girls were all dressed in our little 60’s dresses with fitted bodices, puffed sleeves, defined waists, flared skirts, and peter pan collars. In those days, girls never wore pants to school. Most of us swept our hair up into pony tails; the boys sported buzz cuts. In the innocence of the hour, we enjoyed our play. Then the bell rang signalling our free time was over, and we reluctantly returned to our academic labors.

Once inside the classroom, however, a sight I had never seen before confronted us. My teacher was weeping, and this frightened me, because I had never seen a teacher cry before. We children counted on adults to be always strong and brave, to guide us and protect us in every circumstance. Through her tears, my teacher told us the president had been shot, and that he had died as a result of his injuries. Then she instructed us to go to the window, as the flag was to be lowered to half-mast. She wanted us to witness this. Perhaps her true motivation was to momentarily direct our eyes and attention away from her grief-ravaged face. As she intended, I have never forgotten the slow and deliberate descent of our country’s fabric emblem, the lowering of which symbolized the depth of despair at our nation’s loss.

In the 36 years that I spent in the classroom as an educator, several catastrophic historical events occurred during school hours—the explosion of the space shuttle Challenger, September 11th, Columbine. On these occasions it has been my duty to shepherd my students safely through a tumultuous day in our nation’s history. I cannot in all honesty say that I did this with better control of my grief than my third grade teacher did, but I did my best. When the signalling bell of history rings, that’s all any of us can ever do.