For years, when the author taught about World War II, she used primary and secondary source readings, she presented Power Points, and had her students watch newsreels and other video clips. Today, her students interact with actual artifacts from history so that they can draw conclusions and gain understanding about what the soldiers' lives were like during the war. The author contends that teaching with artifacts encourages students to become more involved. Being able to see and even touch the different items fascinates students much more so than a picture in a textbook, and makes them hungry to know more about the men who once owned the items. In this article, the author describes a classroom activity involving the use of these artifacts to investigate a soldier's identity. (Contains 3 notes.)