A history day project brought teams of teachers and students from as far away as Guam and Connecticut to Hawaiʻi. Each team honored and studied a different veteran buried at the National Cemetery of the Pacific at Punchbowl. The students are winding up a week of visiting local historic sites such as the Arizona Memorial and the Pearl Harbor Aviation Museum.
On Friday, they will present eulogies to cap off months of research about a hometown hero. Napu Blas, 17, from Father Dueñas Memorial School in Guam shared the story of Chamorro Navy veteran Jesus Chargualaf Manalisay, who died at the age of 22. The Conversation spoke with Blas and his teacher Lazaro Quinata about their experience.
Travel and program expenses for the Sacrifice for Freedom: World War II in the Pacific Student & Teacher Institute were funded by Pearl Harbor Historic Site partners as well as through the efforts of the National Park Service, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and Southwest Airlines.
This interview aired on The Conversation on July 28, 2022. The Conversation airs weekdays at 11 a.m. on HPR-1.
