You mentioned that in preparation for the talk you challenged yourself to think broadly about what you learned from your experience in Vietnam, and I think more importantly you probably challenged yourself to think about how through that experience you grew and changed as a person, as did the people around you. Perhaps it is a stretch, but as a community of social beings we have in common the reality that we are constantly growing, changing, and attempting to define ourselves against our own experiences, our own perceptions, and those around us.

The sixth graders might not yet know it, but they are growing, changing, and defining themselves through their experiences in the sixth grade – just as you were growing, changing and defining yourself through your experiences in Vietnam. Perhaps that goes without saying, but perhaps also some of those sixth graders understood that through those experiences you were defining and redefining yourself, just as they are – in the sixth grade.

Or perhaps they were simply more excited to hear about your experience in combat.

Interesting stuff.