Teaching Myself (1940's) History
I have to admit, I haven't always been interested in history - family, American, or World. I sat through my classes in high school, memorized the names and dates we were told to, and immediately forgot ...a lot...of what I (didn't) learn. The phrase, Teach yourself history by doing family history, is so insanely true. My poor husband, who aspired to be a history teacher, just shakes his head and laughs when I would ask him questions such as "This American ancestor died in France in 1944 - what was going on then? Why did he die over there?" Thankfully, I know better now. For instance, I now know when the Civil War was, and I also can tell you with certainty that it was the SECOND World War that my grandfather fought in and not the first. (Sorry, grandpa, for aging you prematurely all these years.) I do, however, tend to forget that World War II affected the entire country, and not just those who enlisted and served in the military. World War II