GLENCOE, Minn. - Back in 1945, a grieving mother wrote a letter about her son's death. She sent it to his fellow crew member in the Army Air Force.
“I found it in my mother and father’s attic,” said history teacher Dean Scheele.
Dean gives credit to his father, Marvin, for his interest in history.
Marvin Scheele was a WWII veteran and a member of the Army Air Force's B-24 Bomber Crew.
Dean always heard his father’s stories, but after his father’s death, he discovered a tale his father had never told him. It had to do with a letter from the grieving mother of Marvin's fellow crew member, Don Givens.
“She thanked him for being a friend. She did have a question about how badly he was mangled. And talks about how she’s sad and doesn’t know if she could ever be happy again,” said Dean.
Dean brought the letter to his 8th-graders at First Lutheran School in Glencoe.
He challenged them to find the relatives of Mr. Givens, so the letter could be given to them.
“From Wellsville, Ohio, that’s all I knew," he said.
Emma Becker, one of the students, says it was a difficult task.
"We started at the beginning of the year with just an address from the letter that got sent to Marvin," she said. "And we went off of that and sent a bunch of letters to Wellsville, Ohio. And we finally got responses and that was really cool. And we found him.”
The students found Don Givens Goodman, a nephew, who happened to be named after Don Givens.
Over the weekend, in Chicago, Dean and two of his students handed the letter to Goodman.
Mr. Scheele’s personal connection not only brought history to life for his students; it also helped them understand veterans' sacrifices.
“Like just people who’ve gone through so much for us and doing that is so cool,” said Emma.
The 8th-graders in Mr. Scheele's class plan to honor World War II veteran Don Givens at the National World War II Museum in New Orleans by dedicating a brick in his name.