Soldiers, veterans talk to students about their experiences

The active-duty soldiers and veterans who spoke to Lakes Community High School students Monday relayed starkly different stories about military life.

There were upbeat, occasionally light-hearted tales from relatively green soldiers who have yet to see combat.

"All the training we've done - we're ready," said Army National Guard Private First Class Paul Heng, a Wisconsin native, as he talked about his upcoming deployment to Iraq.

But there also were grim recollections from battlefield survivors whose memories of war are indelible. Vietnam War veteran John Mann of Deerfield used soft tones to describe his time as an Army medic and surgical specialist during the infamous Tet Offensive, a 1968 assault by North Vietnamese and Viet Cong forces throughout South Vietnam.

"There are a lot of things I've seen in the (operating room) - things you'll never forget," Mann said.

The program at the Lake Villa school featured about 40 active-duty and retired troops from various branches of the service. It was organized by Rebecca Holst, leader of the social studies department.

Students can read about the Vietnam War or World War II's Battle of the Bulge in their textbooks, she said, "But it really makes it authentic to speak to somebody who was there."

Mann, who served in Vietnam from 1968 to 1969, recalled flying in and out of battlefields on helicopters "with the big red crosses up there, which made beautiful targets."

He was never wounded but remembered men next to him in foxholes being killed.

"It's hard for you guys to even think of a concept of a war," Mann told the students. "You've never seen the atrocities of war."

Still, Mann was proudly patriotic.

"You know what? If they called me again, I'd do it again," he said.

Heng was joined in teacher Tia Martinez's class by Private First Class Tyler Eckelberg, also of Wisconsin, and Martinez's husband, James, a retired Navy corpsman.

Heng and Eckelberg, both in camouflaged uniforms, fielded questions about tanks, using grenades, hand-to-hand combat and similar topics.

"The most fun week (of basic training) was when we got to shoot all the guns," Heng said.

Like Mann, Heng and Eckelberg also spoke of the importance of teamwork and the need to rely on their fellow soldiers.

"In the Army, you can't do anything individually," Heng said. "Your life is in their hands."

Most of the questions came from the boys in the freshman class. Some asked how aspects of Army life compared to video games.

Fifteen-year-old Danny Schneider was particularly inquisitive. He said he's considering a military career and was surprised by the soldiers' upbeat demeanors.

"These guys seem really laid back, like real people," he said.

In addition to the classroom assemblies, a school assembly featuring more military speakers was staged in the morning.