Students video conference with USS New Jersey

Delaware Valley High School teacher, George Gelderman’s freshman American Studies students participated in a video-conference from the US Navy’s decommissioned battleship USS New Jersey. The USS New Jersey served in World War II, Korea, Vietnam and the Persian Gulf prior to Operation Desert Storm and is now a floating museum located in Camden, New Jersey. As part of the video program, the students had the opportunity to listen to a woman who helped build the ship, and they compared her to “Rosie the Riveter,” one of the enduring images of the war. Furthermore, the students were able to watch a video that showed the main 16-inch guns of the ship being loaded and fired during the Lebanon crisis of the 1980s. Perhaps the highlight of the conference was the chance to talk with a veteran of World War II and an expert on the main guns of the ship. Dr. Candis Finan, district superintendent of the Delaware Valley School District, also attended. (Contributed photo)