The Navy and World War II - A review of a presentation by a teenager: "Funnest history lesson I ever had."
- researchww2history
- Dec 10
- 3 min read
That was the high praise I got from a high school kid recently when I gave a talk (November 2025) at the Pittsburgh chapter of the Navy’s Sea Cadets. The talk was about the Navy and World War II. The age of the kids ranged from about 11 to 17. It was a small crowd which I don’t mind at all because that’s always a more intimate discussion and allows for more time during questions and answers afterward.
The Navy is not in my wheelhouse, which is half why I jumped at the chance to give this talk. It took a lot of research to revisit the Navy and its significant contributions to the war. That was a fun task, and I’d be remiss as a WWII historian if I didn’t stay up to speed on who did what and when and where beyond my passions of soldiers and airmen in Europe and my intellectual pursuit of the Holocaust. I learned some things putting together the presentation, I always do, and it helped that I could bookend the Navy’s involvement in the war from literal start (Pearl Harbor) to literal finish (surrender aboard the Missouri) - you can't make that up, you can only talk about it and hope to do it a small piece of honor. The other reason why I jumped at the chance to give this talk was because the audience was children and kids - sign me up for those talks, every time.
The really cool part was the enjoyment and learning I saw when I passed around the artifacts I brought. That included actual shrapnel, cork pieces from a life vest, an aviator’s leather jacket, and several documents and materials from the period that I engaged the kids in and with by having them read aloud from, such as the Bluejacket's Manual and others. I didn’t know I had so much Navy stuff that we could all touch and make a connection to.
Additionally, beyond a couple notable names like Dick Best and Admiral Nimitz, I also included information about unknowns like Reid Cayce, William Tobitsch, and Richard Augspurger. It was fun to bring these guys to the discussion – and Mrs. Augspurger! – and show just how many sailors did phenomenal work in the war without any glory or lingering broad credit…more unsung people who answered the call, risked their lives, completed their missions, and returned home.
The cadets got a lot out of this talk, as did I, and they asked really intelligent questions and knew the answers to some of my quizzes that I gave along the way. Their interest was very refreshing, as was their existing knowledge, and their desire to know more. Their leaders were very accommodating, we all talked for a while, and they gave me a couple tokens of their appreciation, which I’ll keep and cherish, of course. One of their leaders is a current military officer enrolled in one of the service universities, and his compliments were very well received and appreciated, indeed...more high praise.
Any talk with kids about the war is a good talk. This one was special because the kids were great, were interested the whole time, and we had a great back-and-forth discussion after the presentation. Their attention and respect given to me is a testament to them, their parents, and their leaders. It was as much an honor as it was fun.
Special thanks to my advisors on this, a teacher and a Pearl Harbor expert, both schoolmates of mine and champions in the WWII education sector. I could not have done this as well without them.
