World War II veteran speaks to West Valley students

Photo by Maghan Hunt

Bob Nielson speaks to Crystal Jackson's AP World History class during 4th period at West Valley. Nielson is a former Marine who served in World War II from 1943-1946.

Bob Neilson was 18 when he landed on Saipan Beach in the South Pacific on D-Day. He was apart of the U.S. Marines 2nd Division, 2nd JASCO Company.

Neilson, now 84, gave a speech to a room full of West Valley Advanced Placement World History students. His speech was titled “Awakening the Sleeping Giant,” and in it he discussed the bombing of Peal Harbor from the point of view of the Japanese.

Neilson was 16 when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. He remembered going to church on Sunday, Dec. 7, 1941, with his family, who lived in Oakland at the time. After church, members of the congregation stood around and talked, that was when Neilson and his family learned of the attack on Pearl Harbor.

According to Neilson, in 1937 when the Japanese invaded China, the United States and Great Britain decided to cut off their access to oil, stop trading with them, and froze their bank accounts in an effort to get Japan out of China. The Japanese knowing they couldn’t run a large military operation without oil struck back.

According to Karl Stemmler, principal of West Valley High School, it is rare that people have the opportunity to listen to someone speech on a World War II, who was actually there and experienced what it was like on the front lines.

“He lived it, he’s from that era,” said Stemmler. “He doesn’t come across with a bias, just facts. He captured (the student’s) attention, they were very attentive and focused on what he had to say.”

“Its really a delight because it puts a current face on history and allows the students to connect to history in a different way,” said Crystal Jackson, the AP World history teacher for West Valley.

Nielson served in the Marine Corp. from 1943-1946. Once he was discharged, he went to Lincoln University in San Francisco on the GI Bill and became an attorney. He practiced law for 22 years before retiring.

Neilson said he enjoyed talking to the West Valley students and would like to talk to more students in the area. Nielson’s speech was so well received at West Valley that he will be speaking again in March.