The Red Baron

Isaac did his 2nd grade research project on Manfred von Richthofen, also known as The Red Baron.  He, of course, played the part perfectly and over the past month has become a walking, breathing World War 1 encyclopedia.  As part of the assignment, Isaac was supposed to tell why he chose this particular person to research.  He wrote, "I chose Manfred von Richthofen because of my love of military history and  because The Red Baron is still considered the most famous and well known fighter ace of all time."  Turns out, Manfred von Richthofen is not that well known since most of the kids in his grade (and some teachers) could tell you more about Red Baron pizza than World War 1.   But no matter, Isaac set the record straight with his detailed description of WWI aircraft, military history, and geography.  He even impressed his teacher's husband by precisely explaining the complicated mechanics of the Fokker DR-1 triplane.  The question was, "How do the machine guns fire without hitting the propeller?" A good question - obviously the man knows planes. Isaac rattled off the answer without hesitation.

 He designed his tri-fold display board to look like the cockpit of The Red Baron's airplane. It looked awesome.

 Here's the movie we filmed - the last part (the bloopers) is my favorite.  The whole thing was a big hit.  And I actually learned a lot from Isaac.

Here he is at the 2nd Grade "Wax Museum".  He held this position until someone pushed the red button on his shirt and then he'd come to life.  I was surprised by how seriously he took this.  Isaac became the Red Baron.

All the projects were impressive and these 2nd graders really new their stuff.  Nate and I had so much fun. Here are a few of the Red Baron's friends. . .

Jackie Robinson,

 Einstein,

 and Wilma Rudolph.

Lucky us, right? To get to hang out with all these famous people!

 I could not have imagined a better Red Baron though. 

Look!  Isaac even knows how to pose like the Baron!

  Ha!  But don't be too fooled.  He's still Isaac underneath it all.

 
"Fight and fly on to the last drop of blood and the last drop of fuel and the last beat of the heart.  Fly on." 

- Baron Manfred von Richthofen

Way to go, kiddo. We love your passion and exuberance and incredible knowledge (especially of military history). Thanks for always keeping life fascinating. Fly on!