COLLEGE PARK, MD – May 19, 2026 –National History Day® (NHD) is proud to celebrate the educators who completed its Researching Silent Heroes program, sponsored by the American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC), which maintains American military cemeteries and monuments overseas. Educators received hands-on training to research and create a profile for a Silent Hero™, an individual who served in the United States military. The men and women researched for this series died during World War I, World War II, the Korean War, or the Vietnam War and are buried or memorialized in an American military cemetery cared for by the ABMC.
Educators met monthly from October 2025 through March 2026 with both a historian and a research specialist to place their Silent Heroes in historical context and learn strategies for researching their lives. Once teachers completed their research, they wrote a profile for NHD’s Silent Heroes website. This work is shared with the ABMC for future use in their educational materials and is available to view on the Veterans Legacy Memorial website.
“I am so proud of the hard work and dedication that these NHD teachers have put into researching and writing their Silent Heroes profiles,” said NHD Executive Director, Dr. Cathy Gorn. “Through National History Day’s Researching Silent Heroes program, educators learn valuable primary source research skills they can pass on to their students, while telling the important, and often forgotten, stories of service members who gave the ultimate sacrifice.”
The 58 educators who completed this program represent 30 states and one international school. The Silent Heroes they have selected are buried or memorialized at 17 ABMC cemeteries.
NHD honors the following teachers for completing this program and telling the stories of the Silent Heroes they chose to research:
World War I Service Members
| Silent Hero | Teacher and School |
| Aisne-Marne American Cemetery | |
| U.S. Army Private Joseph Bird Gatewood | Mrs. Laura Channing Stone Bridge High School Ashburn, Virginia |
| U.S. Army First Lieutenant Parr Hooper | Mr. Coby Treadway St. Mary’s Ryken High School Leonardtown, Maryland |
| Brookwood American Cemetery | |
| U.S. Navy Seaman Francis L. Wilkes | Ms. Kierstyn Bohl Mashpee Middle-High School Mashpee, Massachusetts |
| U.S. Army Private Morris Herman Walker | Mrs. Erin Curry Stone Bridge High School Ashburn, Virginia |
| Flanders Field American Cemetery | |
| U.S. Army Private First Class Wesley Neil Lambert | Ms. Melissa Lawson Cordova High School Rancho Cordova, California |
| Meuse Argonne American Cemetery | |
| U.S. Army Musician Third Class Gaylord Anderson Bradley | Dr. Krista Grensavitch National History Day College Park, Maryland |
| U.S. Army First Lieutenant John F. McCormick | Mrs. Michelle Rafach Hancock High School Kiln, Mississippi |
| Oise Aisne American Cemetery | |
| U.S. Army Corporal Willie W. Shankle | Mrs. Cheryl Murray Pine Springs Blended Academy Apex, North Carolina |
| U.S. Army Private Patrick H. Buckley | Ms. Tami Redinger Davey Elementary School Havre, Montana |
| Somme American Cemetery | |
| U.S. Army Private John Hess | Mrs. Jamie Adams-Granato Pueblo County High School Pueblo, Colorado |
| U.S. Army Private First Class Edward F. Rielly | Mr. Sean McGill Horace Greeley High School Chappaqua, New York |
| St. Mihiel American Cemetery | |
| U.S. Army Private Richard Lee Green | Mrs. Karen Richey Toby Johnson Middle School Elk Grove, California |
| U.S. Army Captain Joseph James Loughlin | Mrs. Maggie Swanson North Gaston High School Gastonia, North Carolina |
| Suresnes American Cemetery | |
| U.S. Marine Corps Private Philip Biondi | Mr. Christopher Doyle Bronxville High School Bronxville, New York |
| U.S. Army Private Walter Nagel | Mrs. Marsha Washburn Ashbrook Independent School Corvallis, Oregon |
World War II Service Members
| Silent Hero | Teacher and School |
| East Coast Memorial | |
| U.S. Navy Seaman Second Class Joseph Del Vecchio, Jr. | Mrs. DanaAnn Landesman Bronxville High School Bronxville, New York |
| Epinal American Cemetery | |
| U.S. Army Air Forces Technical Sergeant Thomas J. Walker | Mrs. Donna Gustafson Santan Junior High School Chandler, Arizona |
| Florence American Cemetery | |
| U.S. Army Sergeant Rufus Buster Pitts | Dr. Michelle Pope Landrum High School Campobello, South Carolina |
| Henri-Chapelle American Cemetery | |
| U.S. Army Sergeant Halsey J. Miller | Ms. Marissa LaSala Woodrow Wilson Middle School Edison, New Jersey |
| Honolulu Memorial | |
| U.S. Navy Seaman Second Class James N. Stapley | Mrs. Ellen Miller Aspire Academy at Arredondo Tempe, Arizona |
| U.S. Army Private First Class Luis Sanchez | Ms. Julietta Rojas Valle Verde Early College High School El Paso, Texas |
| U.S. Navy Fire Controlman Third Class Leo Karll Ballenger, Jr. | Ms. Rebecca Scott Riverstone International School Boise, Idaho |
| Netherlands American Cemetery | |
| U.S. Army Technician Fifth Class Walter Burtis Harper | Ms. Elizabeth Borrowman Kennedy Elementary School Butte, Montana |
| Manila American Cemetery | |
| U.S. Merchant Marine Merchant Seaman James Linton Robison | Mr. Mathew Cameron Chiang Mai International School Chiang Mai, Thailand |
| U.S. Army Private Anthony P. Testa | Mrs. Deborah Alberti Jefferson Middle School Albuquerque, New Mexico |
| U.S. Army Air Forces First Lieutenant Harry Chapman Franklin | Mrs. Isobel Ramsey Holliston High School Holliston, Massachusetts |
| U.S. Army First Lieutenant Henry Ashton | Mx. Jamie Tadrzynski Canyon Springs High School and the Leadership and Law Prep Academy North Las Vegas, Nevada |
| Sicily-Rome American Cemetery | |
| U.S. Army Private Clarence H. Overby | Mr. Zach Hochhalter Fargo North High School Fargo, North Dakota |
| West Coast Memorial | |
| U.S. Coast Guard Aviation Machinist’s Mate First Class Warren W. Engelhardt | Mrs. Katherine Grider Ector School Ector, Texas |
Korean War Service Members
| Silent Hero | Teacher and School |
| Honolulu Memorial | |
| U.S. Army Corporal Charles Eugene Marco | Mrs. Emily Barker Beverly Elementary School Beverly, West Virginia |
| U.S. Army Corporal Paul Norman Tremblay | Dr. Christopher Beckvold Winthrop Middle School Winthrop, Massachusetts |
| U.S. Marine Corps First Lieutenant James Lowman Frazier | Mrs. Marjorie DeNeal Harrisburg High School Harrisburg, Illinois |
| U.S. Air Force Staff Sergeant Clifford Henry Mast | Ms. Beth Doughty Chief Umtuch Middle School Battle Grove, Washington |
| U.S. Air Force First Lieutenant James Franklin Davis | Mr. Connor Fahy Green Charter Schools – Spartanburg Spartanburg, South Carolina |
| U.S. Air Force First Lieutenant Robert Durham Canfield, Jr. | Mr. Thomas Garrett Canyon View High School Waddell, Arizona |
| U.S. Marine Corps Corporal Frank Earl Yeager | Mrs. Lisa Genton Divine Mercy Academy Monroeville, Pennsylvania |
| U.S. Army Corporal Charles L. Johnson | Dr. Jacqueline Grant Gulliver Prep School Pinecrest, Florida |
| U.S. Army Corporal Jacob W. Allmaras | Ms. Morgan Keena Heritage Middle School Horace, North Dakota |
| U.S. Army Private First Class John Thomas Sharp | Mrs. Jenny Puente Reginald F. Lewis High School Baltimore, Maryland |
| U.S. Air Force Lieutenant Colonel George Andrew Davis, Jr. | Ms. Nichole Ritchie Llano Junior High School Llano, Texas |
| U.S. Marine Corps First Lieutenant Roger Baron Beem | Mr. Jason Robbins Ohio Virtual Academy Maumee, Ohio |
| U.S. Army Private First Class James W. Corbin | Ms. Karen Stevens Cane River Middle School Burnsville, North Carolina |
| U.S. Army Master Sergeant Robert L. McCole | Ms. Yacqueline Uribe Perez Clauss Luke C. Moore Opportunity Academy Washington, D.C. |
Vietnam War Service Members
| Silent Hero | Teacher and School |
| Honolulu Memorial | |
| U.S. Marine Corps Lance Corporal Albert Brigham | Mrs. Stephanie Carr Lithia Springs High School Lithia Springs, Georgia |
| U.S. Army Private First Class Harold Lee Harris | Ms. Cheryl Chauncey Ben L. Smith High School Greensboro, North Carolina |
| U.S. Army Staff Sergeant Frank Neil Badolati | Ms. Lauren Connolly Kearsarge Regional High School North Sutton, New Hampshire |
| U.S. Marine Corps Captain James Dale Mills | Ms. Amy Cunningham Round Rock High School Round Rock, Texas |
| U.S. Navy Senior Chief Aviation Electronics Technician Reuben Beaumont Harris | Dr. Elise Durkee David H. Ponitz Career Technical Center Dayton, Ohio |
| U.S. Marine Corps Captain Larry Fletcher Potts | Mrs. Vanessa Gallaher The Bayard School Wilmington, Delaware |
| U.S. Marine Corps Private Monek Weitz | Ms. Allison Gibbs Lynn English High School Lynn, Massachusetts |
| U.S. Navy Seaman Kylis Therod Payne | Ms. Sonja Hayes The Siena School Silver Spring, Maryland |
| U.S. Air Force Captain Richard Carolinus Yeend | Mrs. Rachel Jernigan Pascagoula High School Pascagoula, Mississippi |
| U.S. Air Force Captain Vincent Joseph Hickman | Ms. Marci Kivo Jericho Middle School Jericho, New York |
| U.S. Navy Radioman Third Class Bruce Allen Timmons | Mrs. Alicia Laufer Spanish River Community High School Boca Raton, Florida |
| U.S. Army Staff Sergeant Humberto Acosta-Rosario | Mrs. Jennifer Luneau Constitution High School Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| U.S. Air Force Colonel Lester Evan Holmes | Ms. Michelle Nystel Turkey Valley Junior/Senior High School Jackson Junction, Iowa |
| U.S. Marine Corps Lance Corporal Calvin Wayne Wilkins | Mr. James Richardson Tennyson Middle School Waco, Texas |
| U.S. Marine Corps Private First Class William D. McGonigle | Mr. Jeffrey Schuh Seaman Middle School Topeka, Kansas |
