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Courtesy photo
Jordan Woodbury, center, talks with Tom Heathershaw and other Columbus students after stopping at a bakery to get lunch during a day of touring European war sites.
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Documentary will give viewers a glimpse European war sites Columbus students saw
By ANDREW WIND, Courier Staff Writer
WATERLOO --- The Columbus High School seniors had learned in class about the wars fought on Europe's soil.
But it wasn't until the 15 students stood on the landing beaches, walked through the battlefields and looked out over a cemetery with a sea of soldiers' gravestones that they understood.
Gary Schnieders' advanced placement European history class left for France and Belgium March 25 ready to "walk around and experience" what they'd been reading about all year, said student Andy Mixdorf.
By the time he and his classmates returned April 5, they were changed people.
"When we went to see the battlefields, standing where they stood, you can't really describe the feeling you get knowing that they sacrificed," said Rachel Elbert.
"It accentuated everything we read," added Marco Roche.
"You don't really get the full effect unless you're there," said Melissa Horan.
Viewers can achieve the next best thing, though, when a documentary on the students' trip premieres Sunday at the high school.
Chris Hansen, a 2005 Columbus graduate and sophomore at St. Thomas University, accompanied the class and shot 20 hours of film. He has created the half-hour documentary "A Journal: Tracing the Footstep of History."
The communications studies and broadcast journalism major did the project as an independent study. The documentary idea was planted by Schnieders two years ago while Hansen helped him edit a slide show of a previous class, the first one to go on the European trip.
Earlier in Hansen's high school career, suggestions from Schnieders got the student involved in re-designing Columbus' Web site and making a highlight video of the football team's season.
"That's really how I got into editing," said Hansen.
He remained in touch with Schnieders after high school, which led to the ongoing discussions about a documentary of the trip. Eventually, they decided to go forward and began planning around Thanksgiving.
They envisioned a documentary showing that "experiencing these places firsthand really has complimented the learning that has taken place in the classroom," said Hansen.
"I've seen what an incredible learning opportunity this is," said Schnieders. "I don't think there's anything that can match this for a high school experience."
He added, "I have no doubt that these students, when they come back to their reunion 25 years from now, this is one of the first things they'll talk about, this experience."
Students said they visited a number of sites important to both World Wars I and II.
They walked the remains of Fleury, a French village which is pock marked with deep craters from repeated German artillery fire. They described the French countryside, where trenches and shell holes can be seen in wooded areas within 10 feet of the roads, near Verdun.
Jim Even described as "surreal" the experience of being in a cemetery the class visited.
"Yes, it's just a cemetery, but it's so much more, because you understand the cost of war," he said.
Leanne Hotek talked about row after row of crosses marking graves at Meuse-Argonne, the biggest American cemetery in Europe.
"It didn't become numbing, but you kind of forget what you're looking at," she said. "It's such a vast amount, you can't imagine that many people."
In Ieper, Belgium, several of the students took part in the "Last Post" ceremony that occurs daily at 8 p.m. to honor 56,000 soldiers who died there during three World War I battles.
"I think one of the cooler things we did was lay the wreaths, especially the American ceremonies," said Elbert.
The students conducted ceremonies at two American cemeteries in honor of those who fought and died in both world wars.
At the Omaha Beach cemetery, they encountered J. Frank Akridge, an American veteran from Georgia who was back for the first time since landing there in 1944.
"I just thought, 'what are the chances 60 years after, the day he comes back there's an American high school class laying a wreath there?'" said Hansen.
Along with including such experiences in the film, Hansen interviewed students before the trip about their expectations and followed up on that afterward.
Schnieders, who has seen the rough cut of the film, said "this documentary is just unbelievable." It is intended to help students, parents and others "see the value of going abroad," he added. "There's more value than the value of a dollar."
Initially, some of the students weren't sure they would want the camera following them throughout the trip.
"I thought it would be a little weird at first. I didn't know what to expect," said Horan.
"Now I'm glad he did it, because now we get to relive the whole trip."
Contact Andrew Wind at (319) 291-1507 or andrew.wind@wcfcourier.com.
{M3
GO & DO
The documentary "A Journal: Tracing the Footstep of History" premiers 6:30 p.m. Sunday at Columbus High School's Oppold Gymnasium. Created by 2005 Columbus graduate Chris Hansen, it follows Gary Schnieders' advanced placement European history class trip this spring to World War I and II sites across France and Belgium. Students' experiences and emotions are portrayed as they participate in memorial services, talk with veterans and visit battle sites.
But it wasn't until the 15 students stood on the landing beaches, walked through the battlefields and looked out over a cemetery with a sea of soldiers' gravestones that they understood.
Gary Schnieders' advanced placement European history class left for France and Belgium March 25 ready to "walk around and experience" what they'd been reading about all year, said student Andy Mixdorf.
By the time he and his classmates returned April 5, they were changed people.
"When we went to see the battlefields, standing where they stood, you can't really describe the feeling you get knowing that they sacrificed," said Rachel Elbert.
"It accentuated everything we read," added Marco Roche.
"You don't really get the full effect unless you're there," said Melissa Horan.
Viewers can achieve the next best thing, though, when a documentary on the students' trip premieres Sunday at the high school.
Chris Hansen, a 2005 Columbus graduate and sophomore at St. Thomas University, accompanied the class and shot 20 hours of film. He has created the half-hour documentary "A Journal: Tracing the Footstep of History."
The communications studies and broadcast journalism major did the project as an independent study. The documentary idea was planted by Schnieders two years ago while Hansen helped him edit a slide show of a previous class, the first one to go on the European trip.
Earlier in Hansen's high school career, suggestions from Schnieders got the student involved in re-designing Columbus' Web site and making a highlight video of the football team's season.
"That's really how I got into editing," said Hansen.
He remained in touch with Schnieders after high school, which led to the ongoing discussions about a documentary of the trip. Eventually, they decided to go forward and began planning around Thanksgiving.
They envisioned a documentary showing that "experiencing these places firsthand really has complimented the learning that has taken place in the classroom," said Hansen.
"I've seen what an incredible learning opportunity this is," said Schnieders. "I don't think there's anything that can match this for a high school experience."
He added, "I have no doubt that these students, when they come back to their reunion 25 years from now, this is one of the first things they'll talk about, this experience."
Students said they visited a number of sites important to both World Wars I and II.
They walked the remains of Fleury, a French village which is pock marked with deep craters from repeated German artillery fire. They described the French countryside, where trenches and shell holes can be seen in wooded areas within 10 feet of the roads, near Verdun.
Jim Even described as "surreal" the experience of being in a cemetery the class visited.
"Yes, it's just a cemetery, but it's so much more, because you understand the cost of war," he said.
Leanne Hotek talked about row after row of crosses marking graves at Meuse-Argonne, the biggest American cemetery in Europe.
"It didn't become numbing, but you kind of forget what you're looking at," she said. "It's such a vast amount, you can't imagine that many people."
In Ieper, Belgium, several of the students took part in the "Last Post" ceremony that occurs daily at 8 p.m. to honor 56,000 soldiers who died there during three World War I battles.
"I think one of the cooler things we did was lay the wreaths, especially the American ceremonies," said Elbert.
The students conducted ceremonies at two American cemeteries in honor of those who fought and died in both world wars.
At the Omaha Beach cemetery, they encountered J. Frank Akridge, an American veteran from Georgia who was back for the first time since landing there in 1944.
"I just thought, 'what are the chances 60 years after, the day he comes back there's an American high school class laying a wreath there?'" said Hansen.
Along with including such experiences in the film, Hansen interviewed students before the trip about their expectations and followed up on that afterward.
Schnieders, who has seen the rough cut of the film, said "this documentary is just unbelievable." It is intended to help students, parents and others "see the value of going abroad," he added. "There's more value than the value of a dollar."
Initially, some of the students weren't sure they would want the camera following them throughout the trip.
"I thought it would be a little weird at first. I didn't know what to expect," said Horan.
"Now I'm glad he did it, because now we get to relive the whole trip."
Contact Andrew Wind at (319) 291-1507 or andrew.wind@wcfcourier.com.
{M3
GO & DO
The documentary "A Journal: Tracing the Footstep of History" premiers 6:30 p.m. Sunday at Columbus High School's Oppold Gymnasium. Created by 2005 Columbus graduate Chris Hansen, it follows Gary Schnieders' advanced placement European history class trip this spring to World War I and II sites across France and Belgium. Students' experiences and emotions are portrayed as they participate in memorial services, talk with veterans and visit battle sites.
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