Daviess County Public Schools Virtual Academy Learning Coach Beth Ewing and Owensboro High School student McKayla Thomas are preparing to embark on quite the experience that will take them across the globe. They will travel to Washington, D.C., and then Normandy, France, later this month to honor WWII soldiers from Owensboro who gave the ultimate sacrifice on D-Day.
The opportunity was made possible by their participation in the Albert H. Small Institute. The Institute takes 15 high school student-teacher teams through an intensive program to learn about the D-Day Campaign of 1944. It begins in January with online discussions and weekly reading assignments and culminates in late June with the travel experience.
During the semester, the student-teacher teams participate in discussions and watch lectures by Institute Staff from George Washington University. They study and present upon a specific topic pertaining to the Normandy campaign and engage in extensive research on the life of a soldier buried at the Normandy American Cemetery in Colleville-Sur-Mer.
In Washington, D.C., the teams will stay in the George Washington University dorms while attending lectures, visiting the National Archives, and participating in a wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery. While in Normandy, students will present a briefing on their particular topic and deliver a eulogy for the soldier they have researched at their graveside in the Normandy American Cemetery.
Ewing and Thomas will read the eulogy of David Lee Wilhite of Owensboro.
“As a true history nerd this opportunity is nothing short of amazing,” Ewing said. “I get to spend time with fellow history nerds around the country and we have the common goal of understanding more about the topic and how to teach it better to the students we have in our classrooms. The process of finding a local hero to honor during the institute has been enlightening. We have so many local connections to D-Day and World War II as a whole. All of our local heroes and connections to history should be celebrated and this is just the starting point for other rabbit holes of history.”
Thomas said, “I feel incredibly honored to be a part of the Normandy Institute. Having the opportunity to go to France this summer after learning about D-Day and World War II is absolutely fascinating to me.”
