On April 11, American Studies teachers Anna Meyers-Caccitolo and Katy Newcomb received an email from a Vietnam veteran Jim Zwit who had previously spoken at LT. However, the two teachers were surprised and excited by what they read. Zwit called the school’s attention towards the 45th commemoration of the Vietnam War and to honor the comrades Zwit and his friends lost.

Then, Zwit proceded to explain how he would like to live stream to the American Studies classes from the Vietnam Wall in Washington D.C. There students would have the opportunity to take part in learning about Zwit and his five comrades and their experiences in the war.

“I hope that my students finally really understand what those Vietnam men went through,” Meyers said. “There will never be another personal experience like this and our kids were able to talk to veterans, and I hope they know how insane and intense the war was, along with knowing what they went through and what they came home to.”

With rare opportunities to speak to Vietnam veterans, the teachers and students made sure they were well prepared with prior knowledge of the Veterans’ stories and had questions ready.

“We gained a lot of knowledge on how they saw things in the war versus how the public opinion of it was,” American Studies student Liam Gannon ’17 said. “I think that it is most important to understand how this generation has gained insight into the experiences from those who fought in the war.”

As the event approached on April 15, Meyers and Newcomb worked with other LT staff throughout the school to make sure everything would run smooth.

“Preparing for it involved a lot of technology and different people helping us, and without them it wouldn’t have been possible,” Meyers said. “It started off very small, we were just going to by a cord and plug it into our rooms projector, then Bill Allan from LTTV came to see me with the idea to display the Facetime in the Reber Center.”

After the students asked the veterans questions and were given a tour of the wall via Facetime, they gave the veterans the most sincere thanks and the loudest welcome home, which the Veterans had not received 45 years ago when they arrived home from Vietnam.

“It was a moment to cherish for all of us, and it was an honor just to be there with them,” American Studies student Jocelyn Taylor ’17 said. “This experience is definitely one I’ll never forget.”

The veterans connected with students through Facetime for over 3 hours with different class periods.