U.S. Navy Presents USS Arizona Relic to Grace
The December 7 High School Community Meeting was a truly unique event. On the 81st anniversary of the attacks on Pearl Harbor, officers from the United States Navy presented a relic of the USS Arizona Battleship, sunken during the attack, to the Grace Church School community.
To begin the event, tenth grader Ronan M. delivered a short presentation about the sinking of USS Arizona followed by a Navy honor guard led by Petty Officer Chris Rudolph who presented the colors while students stood for the national anthem. Lieutenant Commander Jerrad Denny spoke to students about the sacrifices made by Americans during World War II and about what it means to live a life of service before officially presenting the framed relic to Head of School Robbie Pennoyer.
Following the presentation, two Grace Juniors delivered remarks about the aftermath of the attack on Pearl Harbor. Ian G. described what it meant for Japanese Americans including the many who would be sent to internment camps. Barak L., who is currently taking “The World Wars” as a history elective discussed the impact that Pearl Harbor had on the Holocaust and those suffering under Nazi occupation in Europe.
The framed relic will be hung at the high school campus alongside photographs of American military leaders from World War II. The event was the culmination of seven years of work by history teacher Jason McDonald who first began the process when he was teaching WWII history in Hawai’i.
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Grace Church School is a co-educational independent school in downtown Manhattan, New York City providing instruction for nearly 800 students in Junior Kindergarten through Grade 12.
