SKANEATELES - D-Day, the beach at Normandy, the attack on Pearl Harbor - for many students these are names in a textbook about a war that was fought long before they were even born.

But eighth-grade students at Skaneateles Middle School had a rare opportunity to realize that these names, dates and places are not merely facts to be memorized from a textbook, they are a reality for people from the Skaneateles community who served in these wars.

Last week, students had the chance to listen to local World War II veterans share their stories and bring at least a little bit of their history books alive.

Eighth-grade social studies teacher Jim Ryan initiated the idea for this project and worked alongside fellow history teacher Joelle Bashnagel and middle school librarian Sharon O'Connell.

“A few years ago I was looking on the Library of Congress Web site, and I got interested in the idea,” Ryan said. “These vets are getting older and these are stories that need to be preserved and I thought it would be great for the kids ... learn a little bit more about this time in history.”

With help from O'Connell, the teachers were able to find six Skaneateles area veterans who were happy to oblige the school and its students with their stories and recollections from serving during the war.

Marvin Langley, Ed Lukens, Dr. Michael Fallon, Walter Woodmansee, John Manilla and Dick Faulkner participated in this special project for the past four years.

Ryan, Baschnagel and O'Connell worked to chronicle the stories of these men and put the information on the district's Web site.

Eighth grade students study WWII as part of the curriculum and toward the end of the school year they read up on the information about these veterans and prepare to listen and ask questions.

“It gives the students a real life connection,” O'Connell said. “I think it helps them take a look at things and connect what they are studying with real life.”

These veterans shared their stories, from the time of their induction into the military, through their years of service, to returning home.

Langley, who served with the fifth armored division, echoed the sentiments of many of his fellow veterans when he spoke of the war and the emotions that all the men lived with.

While fear was certainly a very real emotion, circumstances made it difficult to feel.

“I'm not the bravest guy in the world,” Langley said. “But there was always so much going on, you didn't really have too much time to be afraid, you just had to keep going.”

Through the war, the little things and reminders of home kept them going.

“On New Year's Eve, we had double rations of turkey, and we snuck in a few bottles of wine,” Langley said. “We weren't supposed to be fighting the next day, but then we were and we didn't stop for 28 days.”

From the armored tank division to the Army Air Force, these men served in a variety of positions during the war and fought on a variety of fronts.

And while there is no denying the important role all these men played in history, many of the men didn't take the time until recently to share their stories.

Walter Woodmansee said even his own children rarely heard about his experiences in the Army Air Force.

“It wasn't until the 50th anniversary, about 1994, that I think a lot of us felt OK about talking about it,” Woodmansee said. “That has been one of the nice things about this; it gives us a chance to really talk about this, something most of us never really talked about over the years.”

These first-hand accounts of the war were in many ways an eye opening experience for the students.

“I think this is a really good idea,” said Shelby McNeilly, 13. “It makes history more life-like, more than just something you read in a text book. There was a lot they went through.”

And while the event focuses on history, these stories do have an impact on the present day as well.

And for the veterans the event gave them the opportunity to share not only their stories but to make students think about the past as well as the future.

“I hope they keep an eye on the wonderful education they have,” Fallon said, “and all the opportunities they have and the whole big world that is out there for them and to stay focused on that.”