To honor their legacy and ensure their stories aren’t forgotten, the (FFSS) project, through UCF’s , recognizes the Floridians who fought and died in Europe during World War II and are now buried in the American Battle Monuments Commission cemeteries in France.

The project, which intends to memorialize Gold Star Floridians from World War II, also teaches history students how to conduct research and construct a historical narrative. This year 10 new biographies are being published through the project in honor of VE Day on May 8 and Memorial Day on May 26.

“The young men whom our UCF students learn about died [around] the age [they] are when they research these stories. [Students] learn valuable research and writing skills, as well as about an individual who paid the ultimate price during World War II,” says Amelia Lyons, leader of the FFSS project and an associate professor in the UCF history department.

“[FFSS] is bringing back all these men who died in service,” says history graduate student Marie Oury. “Today they teach students how to be better historians. Without their willingness to serve again, we couldn’t do the project. It’s a bridge between Florida and France, where local histories in two places become one.”

FFSS graduate students verify all sources, edit biographies written by undergraduates and manage the FFSS website. In the process, they develop a range of professional skills they can carry into their careers after graduation.

Michael Richardson ’22, a U.S. Navy veteran and history graduate student, recently edited the biography of Steward’s Mate Second Class Charles Stripling. Stripling is the FFSS’s first biography from the Normandy American Cemetery and one of the African American sailors to pay the ultimate price during the Allied invasion in June 1944.

“Charles is FFSS’s first U.S. Navy biography, and to tell my brother’s story means a lot,” Richardson says. “[He] served at the front of the ship, right where the sea mine hit his Landing Ship Tank on June 11, 1944. The fact that he was reported missing and never recovered really hits home. It lets students share the veteran’s perspective.”

This summer, Oury and Lyons will travel to Alsace in eastern France to meet with U.S. Consulate representatives, officials from France’s Ministry of Culture, and regional officials and WWII museums that have expressed interest in featuring UCF student-authored stories of American soldiers in their exhibits.

“Marie and I are excited to meet with so many people in Alsace who care about the Floridians who liberated their hometowns. In addition to local interest, WWII museums along the Rhine River get many American tourists who want to know more about the American experience in WWII,” Lyons says. “Our project provides these personal narratives through our rigorously researched biographies. This summer Marie and I will be working where this project started in 2015, with the first biographies our students wrote about Floridians buried in the Epinal American Cemetery.”

This project is deeply personal for Richardson, past president of UCF’s Student Veterans of America chapter.

“It gives me a mission in peacetime. It allows me to serve my community by ensuring that these stories are told professionally and with respect for the men whose stories we tell,” Richardson says. “A lot of our students have not even been in the same room as a veteran, and this project helps history and veterans’ experiences come to life.”

As we pay tribute to our nation’s fallen on Memorial Day, we invite you to read some of the newly published biographies by the Florida France Soldier Stories project. Many of these men never had the chance to start families, and those who did often didn’t live to see them grow up. Memorial Day is a time to reflect and honor those who are no longer with us, but whose sacrifice allows us to celebrate this holiday weekend.

New Florida France Soldier Stories

*Cities in parentheses indicate where the veterans are buried.

• (Rhone)
• (Lorraine)
• (Rhone)
• (Epinal)
• (Lorraine)
• (Lorraine)
• (Normandy)
• (Epinal)
• (Lorraine)
• (Epinal)

Name: Marie Oury
Major: �ᾱ���ٴǰ�����

Why are you interested in this research?
This research has many layers for me:  It links France, my home country, and Florida, where my children were born and where I live now. It explores the regions of France where French people still live with the reminders of American troops’ passage and sacrifice. It investigates World War II, a period for which many questions remain unanswered. It impacts communities in Florida, helping heal family and community wounds opened eighty years ago. But most of all, it changes UCF students who participate in this research. Once our undergraduate students start working on the biography of a soldier, they not only dive into the man or the woman’s life and learn about his/her social and economic environment, but the students also humanize periods such as the Great Depression and World War II. Through their soldier’s life, students understand the impacts of major events or periods on Florida families in a way that no historical account can. It is a powerful way for students to learn about and relate to their communities’ history.  And they learn that American soldiers still matter to in France, in the communities they died to liberate.

Are you a faculty member or student conducting research at UCF? We want to hear from you!

How did you get started in research at UCF?
I started researching history at UCF with the Veteran Legacy Program (VLP), a grant program sponsored by the VA’s National Cemetery Administration (NCA). In 2018, during the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I, I researched Floridians who served in World War I and who died and are buried in France in the American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) cemeteries. I traveled with Drs. Amelia Lyons, Amy Giroux and Connie Lester to France to visit the cemeteries, and the Veterans we studied. This VLP program led me to work in 2022 for the Florida-France Soldier Stories project, also led by Dr. Amelia Lyons.

Who is your mentor? Who inspires you and how?
Dr. Amelia Lyons took me under her wing when I started at UCF. I was not sure I would find my place in a History MA program at an American university. I came from a business background, from another country, and had not been in school for years. Dr. Lyons trusted me and gave me the opportunity to change my career path. Through her classes and the two Veterans research projects she leads, Dr. Lyons and the UCF history department taught me the techniques and skills historians need. I witnessed how she inspired her students to become better historians in every project in which I have participated; she is always looking at new ways to involve, teach, and challenge them—and expecting the best of them in return. I am very grateful to have Dr. Lyons as my advisor, and I am confident that the day I graduate, she will have prepared and equipped me very well to work as a historian.

How does UCF empower you to do your research?
UCF empowered me to do research thanks to the funding, the resources, and the communication platform it provides for this project. UCF, the History department, and the UCF library offer tools, research material, support, and a nurturing environment for researchers to gather, exchange, work together, and learn from each other competencies. Such a public history project is not the result of one person; it can only be successful thanks to teamwork.

Why is this research important?
This research helps students and Florida communities to remember the sacrifices men and women made during World War II. These soldiers, buried in France, had their lives cut short and left behind devastated families and communities in Florida as well as in France. In a world where intolerance and tensions grow, as in our world today, I believe it is important, especially for the young generation, to learn and reflect on the consequences of a war. Even if the fighting happened thousands of miles away, the ripple effects touched every Florida community one way or another, leaving long-term impacts we can still feel eighty years later. As time passes, fewer people will personally remember these soldiers or even say their names, but thanks to our project, we are bringing these men and women back to service and to life.

Are you a faculty member or student conducting research at UCF? We want to hear from you!

Name: Kayla Elizabeth Campana ’15 ’22MA
Major: History alumna who will be pursuing a doctoral degree in texts and technology this fall

Why are you interested in this research?
My interest in this research really stems from the importance of it and wanting to make sure those who might otherwise be forgotten, are not, and that their service and sacrifices are remembered. Though World War I happened over a hundred years ago and the individuals who lived and served in it are no longer with us, their impact is still felt today. We cannot forget that impact or the importance of it.

Are you a faculty member or student conducting research at UCF? We want to hear from you!

How did you get started in research at UCF?
I credit my start in research at UCF to my professors in my undergraduate career, especially my history professors. As a history student, my professors fostered an environment for research, not only teaching how to conduct research, but allotting me opportunities to conduct research by getting me into the archives and the sources. This continued throughout my time in my master’s program, where the faculty provided their knowledge and encouragement, and opportunities for field work.

Who is your mentor? Who inspires you and how?
Dr. Amelia Lyons had been my mentor since my undergraduate career and throughout my master’s program. She has not only been my mentor, but an inspiration, an advocate, and overall, one of my biggest supporters. Her dedication to her students is above and beyond and she is a well-accomplished researcher and educator. As I continue to further my education and one day teach, I aspire to have that level of passion, commitment and compassion.

How does UCF empower you to do your research?
UCF has empowered me to conduct my research in numerous ways, including support from the outstanding faculty and staff, through funding opportunities to travel to conduct my research and present at conferences, the ability to share my research at events, such as the Student Scholar Symposium, the opportunities have been endless at UCF.

Why is this research important?
This research is important because by tracing psychological trauma and the treatment of trauma, we begin and continue to understand the changes that have occurred over time and the impact the past has had on the present and how it can shape the future. My research not only increases our understanding of the past, but further breaks down some of the stigma surrounding trauma today.

How to Get Involved with Research at UCF

• : A for STEM students entering UCF from high school that provides hands-on early research opportunity for academic success.
• : The Office of Research hosts workshops that inform students about how to get started in research and find a faculty member to work with and the first steps on getting started in research.
• : Over the course of two to four semesters, students work closely with a faculty committee to research, write, defend, and publish an original thesis that serves as an honors capstone product of their undergraduate career.
• : A semester-long immersive, classroom experience offered in fall and spring semesters that provides students ways to get connected to research opportunities. This program is available in person or online.
• : OUR is dedicated to cultivating and supporting world-class research at UCF. Students can connect with the office for any questions they may have about research or to find opportunities.
• : This program connects students with experienced undergraduate researchers who will provide guidance on how to get started and get support through research experiences.
• : This online resource allows students to discover research opportunities with UCF researchers across various disciplines. Please note faculty contact information is password protected, but students can gain access by attending a peer mentoring session, completing the Research Roadmaps webcourse, and through other engagement opportunities.
• : The is an online, non-credit, self-paced course that introduces students to research opportunities at UCF. It provides the same information as peer mentoring sessions or a workshop, but at your own pace. Completion of this course also provides you access to the Research Positions Database.
• Summer Research Academy: A three-day event in July that’s designed to support UCF undergraduate students across all majors who are interested in participating in research and creative scholarship. This is an ideal opportunity for students who want to begin research in the fall.
• : A for first-year, transfer students at UCF who have already earned an Associate in Arts degree. T-LEARN provides a select group of students interested in STEM hands-on learning experiences by helping them engage in research.

Are you a faculty member or student conducting research at UCF? We want to hear from you!

“Veterans Month at UCF honors Americans … and their contribution to the nation during their service and afterward,” says Barbara Gannon, associate professor of history and the driving force of Veterans Month at UCF for over a decade. “I think it is particularly important to honor veterans because they remind us that Americans can do great things when they work together and set aside their differences. Veterans did this, and so can we.”

Throughout the month, UCF Knights will have the opportunity to learn veteran stories, connect with other veteran students and alumni, and celebrate new veterans’ projects at the university. Below is the list of Veterans Month events coordinated by the and the in partnership with units across the university.

Sunday, Nov. 6 – Thursday, Nov. 10: UCF Student Veterans Flag Week

The Military and Veteran Student Success Center, with the assistance of Army and Air Force ROTC, will plant over 1,400 American Flags in Memory Mall throughout the week of Nov. 7. The flags represent the number of student veterans attending UCF for the Fall 2022 semester. Students can to help plant flags in Memory Mall throughout the week.

Wednesday, Nov. 9: Veterans Salute & Purple Heart Proclamation, Honors Veterans Wounded in Battle

At Memory Mall between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m., the Veterans History Project (VHP) in collaboration with the Air Force and Army ROTC and the will host a salute to veterans in honor of Veterans Day.

The event will include the raising of the American flag, playing of taps and Purple Heart Proclamation with commentary about UCF’s designation as a Purple Heart University. The designation signifies the university’s recognition and honor of veterans wounded in combat while serving their country who are now pursuing higher education and careers at UCF.

Tuesday, Nov. 15: Veterans History Project Story Day – Emergency Service Veterans

The UCF Community Veterans History Project (VHP) collects, preserves and makes accessible to the public the experiences of Central Florida’s veterans. The histories collected by the VHP are archived and made digitally available through the UCF Libraries. The project also contributes selected veterans’ histories to the Veterans History Project at the Library of Congress.

Throughout the month of November, the VHP will host two “Story Days.” During each story day VHP team members will meet with veterans to collect, preserve and honor the stories of Florida’s veterans. The second story day will happen via Zoom and focus on collecting stories from veterans currently working in emergency services. Students can email history@ucf.edu for more information.

Gannon, a veteran herself, is the principal investigator of the VHP. For over a decade, Gannon has worked with students to preserve these oral histories.

“The VHP records veterans’ stories all year. We believe every day is Veterans Day,” Gannon says.

Wednesday, Nov. 16: Florida France Soldiers Stories

The John C. Hitt Library, room 402 will host a panel discussion and workshop from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. with panelists Amelia Lyons, Elizabeth Klements, Marie Oury, Diana Dizon and Evan Murray, along with UCF research librarians Richard Harrison and Rich Gause.

The seeks to tell the stories of the Florida soldiers buried in the American Battle Monuments Commission cemeteries in France. The goal of the project is to honor and commemorate the brave individuals who gave their lives supporting the Allied forces, liberating France and defeating Germany in the Second World War. The project also teaches students participating in this research project about the history of France and Florida during World War II, the history of individual servicemen and how to implement historical research methods in their work.

Wednesday, Nov. 30: Veteran Knights’ Roundtable – Conversation with UCF Alumni Veterans

The history department will be sponsoring a conversation between alumni veterans at 6 p.m. via . They’ll discuss transitioning from military personnel to student veteran, their experiences at UCF, and how a UCF education and their military experience got them to where they are now.

Jim Stoddard ’14 ’20MA is a current doctoral student and moderator of the event. A veteran himself, he’s experienced firsthand the support UCF gives to its veteran students.

“We have a large student veteran population on campus,” Stoddard says. “I think that comes with being among the largest student population campuses in the country, but I don’t think that’s the only reason we have a lot of vets on campus. In my experience, and people with similar backgrounds to myself, the faculty are very helpful and considerate.”

While these events are held in recognition of , UCF supports its nearly 1,400 student veterans year-round.

Recently, the UCF Veterans Legacy Program (VLP), a partnership with the Department of Veterans Affairs’ National Cemetery Administration (NCA), received a new grant this year to help Florida schools teach students about veteran histories.

Building on work from 2017 through 2019, UCF’s new VLP grant will work with teachers at Florida K-12 schools to create veteran-focused classroom projects at a 10-day workshop held at the headquarters for the Florida National Guard, located in the historic St. Francis Barracks and the adjacent St. Augustine National Cemetery.

“We are so pleased to partner with the Florida National Guard to be able to connect younger students around the state with veterans’ stories through their local NCA cemetery,” says Associate Professor of History Amelia Lyons, principal investigator for the project.

Researchers and community partners who developed the project will celebrate and launch the new grant at an event with guests from the Department of Veterans Affairs’ National Cemetery Administration (NCA).

Earlier this year, UCF earned a Silver Award on the 2022-23 Military Friendly Schools list, an organization that measures commitment, effort, and success in creating sustainable and meaningful benefits for the military population. UCF also offers a range of scholarships and resources available for veteran students, including the Office of Military and Veteran Student Success and UCF RESTORES, a nonprofit clinical research center and treatment clinic.

“Celebrating Veterans Month activities at Ů��AV is another aspect of creating [an environment] of innovation and [belonging],” says Mike Kepner, army veteran and director of the Office of Military and Veteran Student Success.

The project, led by Amelia Lyons, associate professor of history and director of graduate programs, will engage UCF students in research and writing about veterans’ graves and monuments. In addition, UCF faculty and students will collaborate with Central Florida schools to produce interactive curriculums for K-12 students and organize a field trip to the cemetery in Bushnell, which is the county seat of Sumter County.

Involving students of all ages in the project will engage the community with the service and sacrifice of veterans, and will give undergraduate and graduate students a real-life lesson in professionalization, Lyons says.

“This experience with primary research — from identifying the subject and stories, to analyzing the sources to produce a narrative and becoming a published author — is like no other,” Lyons says.

“Learning about the lives and stories of these soldiers is also teaching our students what a historian does,” she says. “It makes history real for them.”

Luke Bohmer, a history graduate student, recently participated in a field research day at the cemetery. “It is vital to go to where the history is, whether it’s a cemetery or an archive. This is more humanizing and palpable than any statistic could ever be,” he says.

Janelle Malagon, an undergraduate, says that she has “always had an interest in military history, and the VLP was a great hands-on experience where I had the unique opportunity to learn the stories of individual soldiers throughout American history.”

The corresponding website exhibit created by the research team — including Scot French, digital historian; Amy Giroux, a computer research specialist in ; and graduate student assistants — will use software to map the research virtually, and UCF’s RICHES Mosaic Interface to create a digital archive.

The public will also be able to participate in the project through an interactive element at the cemetery. Giroux will lead the team in the creation of an augmented-reality app, which will include student-authored biographies of veterans for visitors.

Students are already aware of the impact the program will have. Malagon says the digital components will allow relatives to learn something about their veteran in a way that would not have been possible without the technology available today.

The Florida National Cemetery is one of 135 cemeteries overseen by the VA. Team members recently visited the site to begin their research.

UCF researchers have already begun integrating assignments for the project into their graduate and undergraduate courses.

Students, including those in Lyons’ Modern Europe and the First World War class and Professor Barbara Gannon’s War and Society classes, are conducting research, searching for any documented history on the veterans whose graves will be selected.

Undergraduate students are excited to participate in the project.

Kristina Himschoot comes from a family with deep military roots.  Her parents met in the U.S. Air Force, and both her grandparents served.

“The VLP is becoming more important to me every time I learn something new about it,” she says. “I have the utmost respect for this project.”

Anson Shurr expects he’ll draw a deeper, more personal connection with veterans through his research.

“Seeing their graves in person, epitaph and all, is personal enough. But once you realize that in many cases they lived in the same town or street as you, or you see a surname you know, it really hits home,” he says. He was particularly struck by the fact that people his own age put their lives and dreams on hold to fight in a war.

Kenneth Holliday, who is both a student and U.S. Army veteran, says that because April 6 marks the 100th anniversary of the nation’s entry into World War I, the research is especially timely.

”We are in the centennial of World War I. There is no better time to recognize the service of these veterans,” Holliday says.

Graduate students in Professor Caroline Cheong’s Seminar in Historic Preservation course are helping to identify the graves and monuments to be included and are photographing the sites for both the webpage and the app.

French, associate professor and director of public history, is having students in his Viewing American History in the 20th Century class create interactive digital materials for use on the website. John Sacher, associate professor of history and liaison with public schools, is integrating the results of the project into K-12 curriculum that will be available for use in schools across the U.S.

In May, the UCF team and local middle- and high-school students will travel to the cemetery as a kickoff event for the program. UCF student researchers will interact with younger students at the cemetery, providing what Holliday sees as “a much more personal connection on an individual level. Instead of remembering the major battles and the big names of military and political leaders, the students and local residents can remember that at the heart of the conflict were average people that all of us can probably relate to in some way.”

Gannon, who is also coordinator of UCF’s Veterans History Project, says that because the university engages with veterans and rich history in creating extensive interactive exhibits and web-based tools, the funding doesn’t come as a surprise.

Other schools selected by the VA’s National Cemetery Administration for the project are San Francisco State University and Black Hills State University.

“The award of these three contracts signifies the VA National Cemetery Administration’s dedication and commitment to providing enhanced memorialization and lasting tributes that commemorate the service and sacrifice of veterans,” says Ronald Walters, interim undersecretary for memorial affairs.

The contracts are the first of many planned initiatives to engage educators, students, researchers and the general public through the Veterans Legacy Program. For more information, visit the on the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs’ website.

Established through the National Cemetery Administration (NCA), between 2017 and 2019, VLP harnessed UCF student research efforts to create biographies of veterans buried in national cemeteries in Florida. In piecing together veterans’ stories, students gained historical insight while honoring forgotten legacies.

“I brought someone back to life who had been forgotten in life and in death,” Lyons recalls a student who worked on the program saying.

Now, thanks to a new grant from the Department of Veterans Affairs, that impact will extend beyond the university. Starting in 2023, UCF students and faculty will partner with teachers at Florida K-12 schools to create VLP classroom projects. These projects will connect younger students with veterans’ stories through their local NCA cemetery.

“We are so pleased to be continuing our partnership with the NCA,” Lyons says. “We are expanding our work significantly, working to bring our successful pedagogical model for doing veterans history to K-12 and university faculty around the state of Florida.”

In June 2023, about two dozen Florida teachers will be invited to the UCF Veterans Legacy Program Institute, a 10-day workshop held at the headquarters for the Florida National Guard, located in the historic St. Francis Barracks and the adjacent St. Augustine National Cemetery. Participants will create veteran biography assignments and design a tour of their local NCA cemetery using the St. Augustine National Cemetery as inspiration.

“We hope that holding this institute in St. Augustine, the state’s first settlement, will aid teachers in creating engaging lesson plans for students learning Florida history,” says Barbara Gannon, associate professor of history.

Alison Simpson, command historian for the Florida National Guard, is partnering with VLP to provide the setting for the institute. She will also share expertise about St. Augustine’s history for participants planning class field trips to the area.

“I am really looking forward to this project, to collaborating with the team from UCF, both faculty and students, and sharing with educators from around the state some history of the Florida National Guard as it relates to their [local areas],” Simpson says.

Each teacher’s local cemetery tour will be unique and versatile, highlighting individual veterans whose histories fit with their grade level’s larger curriculum. The final learning materials created at the Institute will be posted on the maintained by (CHDR).

“As the digital humanities research hub for the College of Arts and Humanities, our center developed and maintains the VLP website,” says Amy Giroux, director of CHDR. “The current K-12 curricular materials will be expanded by our new institute.”

At the institute, UCF alumni who previously worked on VLP will share their expertise through panels and one-on-one discussions. Meanwhile, current students will collaborate with teachers to prepare curriculum and conduct research on veterans buried in St. Augustine.

According to Lyons, this exemplifies how an education in the humanities prepares students for future careers.

“VLP is an excellent teaching tool. Students learn real-world skills doing research and writing about veterans connected to their local area … [and] history,” Lyons says. “Our UCF students who will be part of the 2023 UCF VLP Institute will gain professional skills, network with educators in our state and be part of a federal grant program. We are a great example of how connecting classroom education and real-world skills prepares our students for jobs and careers.”

According to Lyons, this program is especially impactful because it allows veterans who served our nation in life to continue their service by educating new generations. Meanwhile, it helps students understand the cultural context of the time a veteran lived.

“VLP and this institute allow us to tell America’s story through the eyes of the veterans whose sacrifices made that story possible,” Gannon says.