Matthew Woythaler’s English class at Carle Place High School was visited by Vietnam veteran and Purple Heart recipient Robert Chiappone of East Meadow.
His tour of duty started in 1966 when he was 19. He came to speak to the students about his experiences in the war and brought a scrapbook of his memorabilia such as ammunition, helmets, maps, and communication devices.
This was a supplement to Woythaler’s unit on the anti-Vietnam War movement that is a part of his Literature of the 1960s class. The class covers excerpts from Dispatches by Michael Herr, The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien, Born on the Fourth of July by Ron Kovic, and even examines song lyrics such as Shut Out The Light by Bruce Springsteen.
—Submitted by the Carle Place School District
