Todd Mirsky |
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Working with Kids
But after I was there I started working with children, which is what ultimately got me into teaching and they had no hygiene at all. Most of the people died before they were in their thirties and children didn’t have it [hygiene] and didn’t brush their teeth. So, we went to teach them rudimentary things to just exist that could theoretically expand their lifespan.
I had signed a personal service contract out of high school to play baseball. So, I still had friends that were still in the Mets organization and they sent me over baseball equipment and we would set up fields to play baseball and the Vietnamese kids had never seen a baseball in their lives. So, it was the idea of teaching them how to do it and run the bases. And one of the things, as I said they didn’t have hygiene at all, so, they would take Band-Aids because you would give them Band-Aids. The only way they would brush their teeth is if you put Band-Aids on them. So you’d see kids with twenty Band-Aids on them, Band-Aids on their face, and they had nothing wrong with them. But, they just liked the Band-Aids. So we would bribe them with that and they’d start brushing their teeth. And they’d never seen soap. And they’d go at a rice paddy or river and see the bubbles from the soap. It was hard to believe that you left the United States and what you were used to and you’d go over there and they’d never seen soap or a toothbrush or toothpaste. So, you realize how different that world was and you were in the middle of it.
I realized, I spoke at the time no Vietnamese and they spoke no English yet you could still communicate. And, it was easier to communicate with the kids with the language barrier than it was with adults. But, with the kids they were completely open and if you just showed them something, they would respond—whether it was brushing their teeth, or washing their hands, or learning how to play baseball. Which made me realize kids are so much more open to learning than adults. [It made me realize that] if you ever want to make a difference then that’s where you can make it.
Object Description
| Profile of | Todd Mirsky |
| Title | A Corpsman with the Marines |
| Profile bio | Todd Mirsky was born in Brooklyn, New York. He spent just a few years living there before moving to Hollywood, California. He attended Hollywood High, and played basketball and baseball. He signed up for the Marines with some of his high school friends and was drafted to the war shortly there after. Todd served in the Marines for a year, and eventually was severely wounded in battle. He spent two years in the hospital recovering, and was honored with a Purple Heart. He coached basketball and baseball for many years after returning from the war for Miraleste High School, and was also a principle at Mira Catalina Elementary. He currently is an assistant varsity basketball coach for Peninsula High School. He lives in San Pedro with his wife, and has one daughter and a granddaughter. |
| Profiler bio | Andrew Menard, Kellie Barsotti, William McKay |
| Subject |
Vietnam Vietnam War Anti Vietnam sentiment Viet Cong teaching veterans |
| Profiled by | Menard, Andrew; Barsotti, Kellie; McKay, William |
| Profile date | 2014-04-11 |
| Geographic subject (city or populated place) | New York; Hollywood; San Pedro; San Diego |
| Geographic subject (county) | Brooklyn; Los Angeles; San Diego |
| Geographic subject (state) | New York; California |
| Geographic subject (country) | USA; Vietnam |
| Coverage date | 1960-1979 |
| Publisher (of the original version) | http://anotherwarmemorial.com/todd-mirsky/ |
| Type |
images video |
| Format | 1 image; 3 video files (00:08:34); 3 transcripts |
| Language | English |
| Contributing entity | University of Southern California |
| Part of collection | An Other War Memorial -- Memories of the American War in Viet Nam |
| Filename | mirskytodd |
Description
| Profile of | Todd Mirsky |
| Title | Working with Kids |
| Format | 1 transcript, 1p. |
| Filename | mirskytodd-vid1_tr1.pdf |
| Full text | Working with Kids But after I was there I started working with children, which is what ultimately got me into teaching and they had no hygiene at all. Most of the people died before they were in their thirties and children didn’t have it [hygiene] and didn’t brush their teeth. So, we went to teach them rudimentary things to just exist that could theoretically expand their lifespan. I had signed a personal service contract out of high school to play baseball. So, I still had friends that were still in the Mets organization and they sent me over baseball equipment and we would set up fields to play baseball and the Vietnamese kids had never seen a baseball in their lives. So, it was the idea of teaching them how to do it and run the bases. And one of the things, as I said they didn’t have hygiene at all, so, they would take Band-Aids because you would give them Band-Aids. The only way they would brush their teeth is if you put Band-Aids on them. So you’d see kids with twenty Band-Aids on them, Band-Aids on their face, and they had nothing wrong with them. But, they just liked the Band-Aids. So we would bribe them with that and they’d start brushing their teeth. And they’d never seen soap. And they’d go at a rice paddy or river and see the bubbles from the soap. It was hard to believe that you left the United States and what you were used to and you’d go over there and they’d never seen soap or a toothbrush or toothpaste. So, you realize how different that world was and you were in the middle of it. I realized, I spoke at the time no Vietnamese and they spoke no English yet you could still communicate. And, it was easier to communicate with the kids with the language barrier than it was with adults. But, with the kids they were completely open and if you just showed them something, they would respond—whether it was brushing their teeth, or washing their hands, or learning how to play baseball. Which made me realize kids are so much more open to learning than adults. [It made me realize that] if you ever want to make a difference then that’s where you can make it. |
| Archival file | Volume5/mirskytodd-vid1_tr1.pdf |
