Carla White’s sixth grade social studies classes at Clanton Middle School hosted a speaker Wednesday who experienced World War II on the front lines in Europe.

Charles P. Jones, a United States Army veteran approaching his 90th birthday, shared his memories from serving overseas from 1941 until the end of the war in 1945.

Jones, a Clanton native, and the other members in his Army company were responsible for engineering duties such as maintaining and repairing military equipment, some of which was used in reconnaissance operations.

“We did all of our work at night,” Jones said as he described the dangers posed by foreign soldiers during the daytime, when people and objects were more visible.

He said he helped build a bridge across the Rhine River in Germany, and he remembers the concentration camps formed in Nazi Germany where millions of Jewish people lost their lives during Adolf Hitler’s reign.

White said one of her students, Issiac Giddens, is Jones’ neighbor and had the idea of inviting Jones to speak to his class about the war.

“We’ve been discussing World War II, and I wanted to tie that in with him coming in,” White said.

Jones’ speeches were videoed so they could be shared with students again in the future.