We Were Heroes: The Journal of Scott Pendleton Collins, a World War II Soldier, Normandy, France, 1944 (My Name Is America) By Walter Dean Myers Journal Entries

Cooperative group Journal Entry 1 Step 1: Skipping lines to give yourself enough writing space, number your journal page 1 – 11, and write down the names of the “leaders” listed below. Step 2: Review your “Character Values & Their Antonyms” printout. Cross reference the character value descriptions with your notes on each leader. Step 3: Discuss with your group which character values should be assigned to each leader. You may use the character values or their antonyms. One may assign many traits to each person. Record your answers beside each name on your journal page. Step 4: If you were a considered to be a leader of your community, country, government , church group, sports group, school club, etc., what character values would you want others to assign to you? Respond with full sentences, and give the reasons for your choices. Example: If I was a leader, I would want others to describe me as _______________, _______________, and_____________because…. Churchill Hitler Mussolini Gaulle Eisenhower Roosevelt Patton Truman Tojo Stalin You

Cooperative Group Journal Entry 2 Map of Europe 1939- 1942 Map of Europe on June 6, 1944 Journal Entry #2: In your group, discuss the differences in the two maps above, and record your thoughts, feelings, and concerns.

The True Glory -- Journal entry 3 “Teamwork wins wars. I mean teamwork among nations, services, and men” (Department, 1945). Instructions: Discuss Eisenhower’s words with members in your group. What did he mean by this statement? Can this apply at school, at home, in the community, etc.? Respond to Eisenhower’s statement with one paragraph, and then write one paragraph about how teamwork applies in your own life.

Independent Journal entry 4 Independently review the 1st journal entry by Scott Collins. Write a two paragraph response to the promts below. How did it make you feel when… Collins said that the journal given to him by his uncle was the only gift he received at his going-away party. Collins mentioned in his journal that there were two pictures on the wall in the living room. One was a picture of his grandfather, Phillip R. Collins, from the civil war, and the other was a picture of his father who was in the army during World War I. Collins said that he wanted his picture on the wall to show that he served his country also. He wrote “I wanted to tell [Mom] about wanting my picture on the wall, but I didn’t. Maybe when all of this is over I will tell her” (Myers, 1999, p. 5).

Journal Entry 5 On June 4, 1944, Collins wrote in his diary “We all got letters from Gen. Eisenhower about us going on the invasion. The letter was serious, about how the Germans would fight savagely and everything, but it made me feel good” (Myers, 1999, p. 7) Prompt: Review the character value empathy listed below. How would you feel upon reading this letter if you were in Collins’s shoes? Empathetic: A person that is able to identify with the state, feelings, and/or experiences of other person. One is able to see from the perspective of another. Antonym: unsympathetic, heartless, cruel, merciless, cold-blooded, ruthless Example: If I was a soldier in the Army, and I received this letter, I would feel ________________ because…… National Archives. Order of the Day Image [Online image]. Retrieved July 17, 2013 http://www.worldbookonline.com/student/extmedia?id=ar146180&st=omaha+beach&em=pc316336

Journal Entry 6 In small groups, review diary entries June 5 – 7. Prior to embarkment, Collin’s comrades were making arrangements with one another about what to do with their personal possessions if they did not make it through the battle. Collin’s recorded sights and sounds from the excitement of Operation Overlord. Collin’s said he did not think he was going to make it because it was “too rough” (Myers, 1999, p. 9). On June 7, Collin’s wrote, “If anybody finds this notebook, please send it to my father, Mr. James Collins, care of the Norfolk and Western Railway, Roanoke, Virginia” (p. 9). Instructions: In your group, discuss the events Collins recorded in his dairy. Review the character values handout and discuss which values you think apply to Collins at this time. Write one paragraph about what it must be like for Collins, and write one paragraph about the character values you and your group linked to Collins.

Journal entry 7 – June 17 On June 17, 1944, Scott Collins wrote “Noise is death” (Myers, 1999, p. 23) What did he mean by that statement?

Journal Entry 8 - June 20 A chaplain gave these reasons for America to enter World War II: “First, people tolerate evil because they see some benefit to themselves” (p. 26). “Then, they feed it in hope that it will turn into something else.” “Then, they appease it in hope that it will not turn against them.” “Then, they respect it because they fear it.” “That’s the assignment we’ve been given, to stop this evil that Hitler and his Nazis represent.” 1st paragraph: Do you agree with the chaplain? Ex. I agree/disagree with the chaplain because… 2nd paragraph: Discuss and define in complete sentences what it means to do the following: Tolerate evil: Feed evil: Appease evil: Fear evil: 3rd paragraph: How can tolerating evil lead to more problems later? Journal Entry: Discuss these topics with your group and record your responses in your journal.

Journal entry 9 June 23 On June 23, 1944, Scott Collins wrote “Sometimes, I’d swear that war is a living think, huge and ugly, that eats up lives” (p. 29). June 25 On June 25, 1944, Collins and others went to a badly damaged church and met three females with the estimated ages of 8, 45, and 70. He wrote “We sat around for a while and then Bobby Joe said he didn’t think they had anything to eat. They invited me to dinner and said I could bring my friends” (p. 32). “The little girl was younger than Ellen, but she reminded me of my sister. Ellen is older in years, but this little girl was older in a different way. The fighting is taking away the little girl in her and making her old before her time. We soldiers are fighting for our lives. The French, already beaten down by the Germans, are fighting for their souls” (p. 32). Prompt: What does Collins mean by these two journal entries? Review your character values handout. What character traits would you give all those mentioned? Reread the diary entries from the diary, discuss these questions with your group, and then write one paragraph about the June 23rd diary entry, one paragraph about the June 25th diary entry, and one paragraph about how you feel empathetic towards these people.

Works cited Department of Defense. (1945). The True Glory [Video]. Retrieved July 18, 2013 http://archive.org/details/gov.dod.dimoc.20363 Historical Map: World War II in Europe: 1939-1942 [Online image]. Retrieved July 18, 2013 http://www.worldbookonline.com/student/extmedia?id=ar610460&em=lr004221 Map of Europe 1944 [Online image]. Retrieved July 18, 2013 http://www.nysm.nysed.gov/citizensoldier/conflicts/WWIIeto/ Myers, W. D. (1999). We were heroes: The journal of Scott Pendleton Collins, a World War II soldier. New York, NY: Scholastic, Inc. National Archives. Order of the Day Image [Online image]. Retrieved July 17, 2013 http://www.worldbookonline.com/student/extmedia?id=ar146180&st=omaha+beach&em=pc3163 36 Scott Pembleton Collins Image [Online image]. Retrieved July 17, 2013 http://serbagunamarine.com/glog-6494-publish-with-glogster.html