John B. Lippard, WWII Marine, EX POW

Some people are heroes for what they've done...some for who they are. John B. Lippard represents the best of both. Mr. Lippard is a kind, endearing man. At 90 years old, he still has a quick smile and jovial spirit. He is a father, husband, brother, grandfather, great-grandfather and walks a little slower these days.
If you crossed paths with him at the local retail store, you might not know that:

Bataan fell to the Japanese on April 9, 1942. Four days later Mr. Lippard turned 21 while stationed at Correigidor.
Correigidor fell on May 6, 1942. He was a prisoner of war for 42 months and has many stories of his captivity in the Pacific.
He and other prisoners were beaten so severely that they were unrecognizable. He survived the unimaginable with grace and dignity. After the war, he continued to serve in the military.
He escorted John Wayne to Correigidor in 1958.
He retired from the Marines, but..."Once a Marine, always a Marine."

Mr. Lippard is the first in this blog's series highlighting the lives of some of our veterans. His is a remarkable life.
Thank you Mr. Lippard for your service and your willingness to share your story. You are a true American Hero.

If you would like to see more of John Lippard's story, follow this link:

John Lippard Untitled Manuscript

 

Little Hands for Big Heroes Lapquilt Project

Little Hands For Big Heroes
Little Hands Background:
While older students, 5th-8th grade, were busy doing interviews with veterans, younger students wanted to be involved too. Little Hands for Big Heroes was developed to introduce 4th graders to service-learning and to veterans in particular.
Mrs. Skeen, Title I Math Teacher, worked with 4th graders to teach measurement math concepts. Mrs. Dake, Gifted and Art Teacher, taught color, pattern, and history of quilts to 4th grade art students. Gifted students learned leadership skills as they worked with first grade students painting handprints on each quilt.

Veteran's Hospital Partner

The Veteran's Hospital in Oklahoma City has been our community partner since the first year of Little Hands. The Volunteer Services department at the VA has been an amazing partner! Students of all ages, parents, and teachers deliver lapquilts on Saturday visits. On each visit, students visit each patient and give them a quilt. They thank the veteran for their service and just try to brighten their day a little.

Other incredible partners include QuiltWorks in Oklahoma City, and volunteers who now help sew quilt tops for us. Without their countless hours of sewing, we would not be able to put together the
quilts like we do.
Since 2006 we have distributed almost 700 quilts.

Library of Congress

This post is to introduce you to the Bridge Creek Veteran's History Project. We hope you will follow our progress and help us honor our veterans.

Bridge Creek Elementary School began interviewing war veterans in 2005 as part of a service-learning project. Students videotape the interviews and send a copy to the Library of Congress in Washington DC. In the interview, students ask the veterans questions from boot camp/training experiences to what they are doing today. As of April 2011, students have completed almost 75 interviews with 60 already catalogued in the Library of Congress. Our veterans range in age from 23 to 93 - from WWII to Panama to Afghanistan - from foot soldiers to submarine captains. 

If you would like to view our interviews, follow this link:

Bridge Creek Youth Action Council Veteran Interviews

The project has expanded to include many more students and several other projects with our veterans that will be introduced in upcoming posts. Please visit often as we highlight some of our veterans, projects, upcoming events, and veteran information.

Mrs. Dake/Mrs. Skeen

Service Learning Coordinators

WWII/POW

Panama

Korea