Grandpa Jo

Jews are required to tell their story of freedom from slavery in Egypt at the Passover Seder.

What stories do you want pass down to future generations? Which stories will they carry with them through their own lives? Fifth grade students at a Minnesota Jewish school were asked to write about their own family histories, stories they would like to tell their children and grandchildren.

My story is about my grandpa Jo. My grandpa Jo was in the army! He fought in World War II! He was also very important to me because he was my last grandparent.

Grandpa Jo was my mom's father, I didn't have any time to get to know him but I do know he had a soft heart. Grandpa Jo lived a happy life but not a healthy one; he smoked many years of his life.

In the war, I bet they worked pretty darn hard. My heroes are the brave men and women who serve in the army for the rights of the people. And one of those people is my grandpa Jo. I'm happy to say he lived through it!

But unfortunately, seven years after I was born he died of lung cancer. That's one good example why not to smoke. The reason is that you die a lot faster. I miss him so so so much. The saddest part is that I don't remember a thing about him.

How does this affect your life today?
It's a really neat thing to know. It's like, part of your family helped change the history of the world! Even though I was never a bit close to being alive when he was fighting it's still very exciting to me.

Will you tell this story to your children?
Definitely! I think it would be awesome to pass this story from generation to generation as long as they tell it better than I! And I hope I'll still be alive to hear the next couple of retellings of the story!!!