<I>The Eagle/Cheryl Jessup</I><BR>Retired U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Robert McCumber answers questions from Prairie City School students, as they look over photos and other memorabilia from Sgt. McCumber's military service.

PRAIRIE CITY – Students at Prairie City School got a firsthand history lesson earlier this month when retired U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Robert McCumber was the guest speaker in Andrew Demko’s classroom.

According to Demko, who teaches social studies at the school, the junior U.S. history class has been studying the period around World War I. Sgt. McCumber’s topic was “The U.S. military in the 20th century, focusing on changes in the U.S. military from WW I to the Persian Gulf.”

McCumber, who served as a drill sergeant and an infantryman, spoke about both World Wars I and II, our country’s involvement and the impact on the United States. He detailed timelines, spoke about the growing power of Adolph Hitler leading up to WW II, and the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor, reviewing for the students historical facts they’ve been learning in class.

He then gave more of a personal account of service during the Korean and Vietnam Wars.

Serving in Korea in the 7th Infantry Division in his first tour of duty, McCumber said, “It was my job to go out and find out what the bad guys were doing and prevent them from doing anything really bad.” He saw 556 combat situations and was personally responsible for three captures.

Regarding Vietnam, he said, “Vietnam taught us many things … the importance of airpower, advancements in weaponry and that we can’t ever let our guard down.”

When McCumber was drafted in 1966, he was working as a radio disc jockey – “the only rock ‘n’ roll DJ east of the Cascades in Oregon,” he said.

He had hoped that his radio experience might at least land him a job as an announcer at a base somewhere. Instead, after infantry training in Fort Polk, La., he went on to the 13th Airborne Division in Fort Bragg, N.C. After that, he traveled to a number of locations – Florida, New York, Pennsylvania, Colorado, Alaska, New Mexico – for trainings in two-week increments.

Finally, from Fort Lewis Wash., he expected to be sent to Korea, but was sent to Vietnam first. His military service also took him to Panama and Germany. He retired from the Army Reserves in Oregon in 1996.

Although his service took him around the world, McCumber has roots in the local community. He is the father of Prairie City School teacher aide Shawna Clark and grandfather of seventh-grader Audra Clark. Also joining in the session were freshmen, sophomores and seventh-graders, making for a packed house and an attentive audience.

After his talk, students crowded around to ask questions and look over the memorabilia he had brought to display: medals, photographs, flags, caps, and other items from his military service to our country.