Hands-on History: Fifth graders visit World War II ship in Marietta

Aarian Talkington, a fifth-grader at Jefferson Elementary School in Wood County, left, admires an anti-aircraft gun onboard the USS LST 235 in Marietta Friday during a tour of the ship, while tour guide Ken Olson, right, talks about the gun. (Photo by Michelle Dillon)

A group of Wood County elementary students visited a piece of history in Marietta Friday morning.

Three classes of fifth graders, 43 students in total, came to Marietta to take a tour of the USS LST 325, according to Jefferson Elementary Assistant Principal Cindy Oxender.

The ship served in World War II during the D-Day operation carrying supplies and wounded soldiers across the English Channel.

Students usually read about history but on the ship they had the chance to experience history firsthand, Oxender said.

Mid-Ohio Valley Platoon Marine Corps Veterans Association member Bernie Lyons paid for all the students to take the tour.

Jefferson Elementary fifth-grader Aarian Talkington turns an anti-aircraft gun around on the USS LST 325 in Marietta Friday as part of a tour of the ship. (Photo by Michelle Dillon)

“I think every youngster should be exposed to the history of the country,” Lyons said.

He also said if you don’t know your history you are doomed to repeat it.

The students were divided into three groups to take the tour and Valerie Rutherford’s class was one of the groups. They had volunteer Ken Olson as a tour guide.

Rutherford said Jefferson Elementary has really been pushing civics lessons and she is excited for the students to learn about why people have the freedoms that they have.

She also said the school does a lot of hands-on activities with science but they don’t get to do a lot of hands-on stuff in social studies.

Marietta Mayor Joshua Schlicher, right, reads a proclamation Friday to fifth grade students from Jefferson Elementary naming Sept. 13, 2024, LST 325 Day. (Photo by Michelle Dillon)

“It’s really nice to do a history-based field trip,” Rutherford said.

A lot of the children in her class have family that were in the military and the students are excited to visit the ship and to be able to tell their family members they were on it, according to Rutherford.

During the tour Olson told students about the ship and its history as he showed them displays about the LST 325’s 40 trips across the English Channel to carry troops and supplies, the Sherman tanks and amphibious vehicles that were transported on the ship, the anti-aircraft and other guns on the ship and their ammunition. He also took them to where they crew ate and slept on board during World War II; showed them an Army Jeep that was used in the filming of the movie “M*A*S*H”; brought them to the officers area of the ship; and more.

The students got to see a 40mm anti-aircraft gun that was mounted on the ship. It had two seats and hand cranks to move it. A few students got to sit in the seats and use the cranks to turn the gun around.

Aarian Talkington was one of the students that got to crank the gun around and he said “it was really cool.” He said his favorite part of the gun was “that I got to move it.”

Tour guide Ken Olson, left, tells Jefferson Elementary fifth grade teacher Valerie Rutheford, right, and her students about the history of the USS LST 325. Students from the school visited the ship at the Ohio River Levee in Marietta Friday to learn about its World War II history. (Photo by Michelle Dillon)

Lilly Thomas wanted a chance to move the gun around but did not get to do so but despite this she said the tour of the ship was “really good.”

She said her dad is an Air Force veteran and her brother was in the Army “so this is amazing to me because I know this is a once in a lifetime experience.”

After the ship tour the students went to Gold Star Park in Marietta to talk to veterans and learn about the monuments in the park and their history, according to Oxender.

She said Lyons arranged the trip to the park.

The LST 325 will be at the levee in Marietta though Sunday and will be open for tours 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

Ken Olson, left, a tour guide for the USS LST 325, shares information about Sherman tanks and how they were hauled on the ship during World War II with Jefferson Elementary fifth-graders Hazel Runions, second from left, Kiara Guerre, center, and Lilly Thomas, right. (Photo by Michelle Dillon)

Jefferson Elementary fifth-graders toured the USS LST 325 in Marietta Friday. Pictured is the ship’s wheelhouse. (Photo by Michelle Dillon)

Valerie Rutheford, right, a fifth grade teacher at Jefferson Elementary, looks at a Lego version of the USS LST 325 with her student Aarian Talkington, left, and others. (Photo by Michelle Dillon)

The USS LST 325 served in World War II during the D-Day operation. Pictured is information about trips the ship took from France to England and back during the operation. (Photo by Michelle Dillon)