National History Day Guides Students and Teachers Researching Untold Stories of Local U.S. Navy and Coast Guard Veterans From World War II
Riverdale teacher selected for VA-sponsored program to research World War II Veterans
By MARY WALSH
National History Day
COLLEGE PARK, Md. (Nov. 11, 2026)—In honor of Veteran’s Day, National History Day® (NHD) is proud to announce the 56 teachers selected for its newest Silent Heroes® program, Silent Heroes: Untold Stories of the U.S. Navy and Coast Guard in World War II, sponsored by a grant from the Veterans Legacy Program in the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. This fall, the selected teachers and more than 800 students will research over 120 Veterans who served during World War II, continued to serve their communities after returning home, and are currently buried or memorialized in a U.S. national or state Veterans cemetery.
Teachers and students will meet monthly with historian Christopher Hamner, Ph.D. of George Mason University, to study the history of the Navy and Coast Guard, World War II, and the experience of Veterans who returned home to their communities. Supported by nine NHD research mentors, the student-teacher teams will use NHD-created materials and other resources such as Ancestry Classroom, Fold3, Newspapers.com, local libraries and historical societies, and Official Military Personnel Files requested from the National Personnel Records Center to guide their research.
“We are excited to continue the work of our Silent Heroes program in partnership with the National Cemetery Administration and tell the individual legacies of those who served in the Navy and Coast Guard during World War II,” said National History Day Executive Director, Dr. Cathy Gorn. “Silent Heroes is a unique and rewarding experience for students to learn the history of World War II through the experiences of their Veterans, and in return, tell their untold stories. Not only do students gain historical thinking and research skills, but they also become connected to the personal and local histories that they have contributed to.”
The participants will research their chosen Veterans’ lives, military service, and community contributions this fall and tell the life and story of their Veterans’ service by creating and publishing a profile on the Veterans Legacy Memorial (https://www.vlm.cem.va.gov/) and NHD’s Silent Heroes website. See a sample Silent Hero profile here (https://nhdsilentheroes.org/profiles/william-pennington-hornsby/) from NHD’s 2025/2026 program, focusing on Marine Corps Veterans. Students will also prepare a eulogy to honor their Veterans at a spring 2027 visit to their local national cemetery. To accompany the digital profiles, NHD will produce video eulogies for the Veterans. See a sample NHD-produced eulogy here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aiurWZduIag&t=233s.
The teachers selected for the 2027 Silent Heroes program represent 32 states and 50 U.S. national or state cemeteries. NHD is proud to celebrate the following Prince George’s County teacher and the Veterans they selected to research:
Teacher and School:
Ms. Taila McKenzie
William Wirt Middle School
Riverdale, MD
U.S. Navy and Coast Guard Veterans:
U.S. Navy Sonarman Third Class Dr. Milton Julian Bailey
U.S. Navy Storekeeper (Disbursing) First Class Shirley Louise Vlasak Baltz
Cemetery:
Cheltenham State Veterans Cemetery
Cheltenham, MD
National History Day (NHD) is a non-profit organization based in College Park, Maryland, that seeks to improve the teaching and learning of history. Established in 1974, NHD currently engages more than half a million students each year in conducting original research on historical topics of interest and supports teachers through professional development opportunities. Students present their research as a documentary, exhibit, paper, performance, or website. Projects compete first at the local and affiliate levels, where the top entries are invited to the annual National Contest at the University of Maryland at College Park. NHD is sponsored in part by the Joyful Noise Charitable Foundation, The Better Angels Society, Bezos Family Foundation, Library of Congress, Dr. Scholl Foundation, Behring Global Educational Foundation, and the National Park Service. For more information, visit https://nhd.org/en/
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Marietta Historic Site & Museum December Celebrations
By STACEY HAWKINS
Marietta Historic Site & Museum
Marietta Historic Site & Museum presents: Marietta’s Winter Holiday Celebration
Looking for a holiday family event? Well, we have the event for you! Visit Marietta Historic Site & Museum during December for Marietta’s Winter Holiday Celebration, December 3–31, 2026, Thursdays through Sundays, 11 a.m., 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. We will be closed on Dec. 25, 2026.
It is free to visit Marietta in December. All ages are welcome. Families are encouraged to attend.
Visitors can explore this year’s décor, featuring a new display of lavish Victorian decorations and food in the dining room and open-hearth kitchen. Guides will share stories about enslaved cooks, Maria and Serena, who prepared the annual holiday foods at Marietta. Visitors can also see the fireplace roasting tools and hear how traditional meats were roasted on a spit and how soups were cooked in spider pots. Hear how Jim, the enslaved butler, prepared the house for winter, including chopping the firewood for the many fireplaces, and how Randolph warmed the carriages for winter travel. Walk through the formal parlor to see period-inspired decorations used to decorate the tree while learning more about the enslaved Duckett and Brown families who were enslaved at Marietta, who not only witnessed Duvall’s lavish holiday traditions but also made their own family traditions. This year’s holiday celebration will also feature a Kwanzaa Room, illustrating a newer holiday tradition. After the tour, visitors can make holiday greeting cards to take home. Visitors may register a specific day and time by visiting www.pgparksdirect.com. Walk-ins are also welcome.
Marietta Historic Site & Museum Celebrates The 50th Anniversary of Alex Haley’s Roots: The Saga of an American Family
Please join us on Thursday, December 10, 6:30 to 8 p.m. to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of Alex Haley’s seminal book, “Roots: The Saga of an American Family”. Doubleday & Company published the book in the summer of 1976. Cynthia Guillen, local historian and president of the Kunta Kinte Heritage Festival, will present an insightful talk about the impact and history of an African American family with deep ties to Maryland, and Alex Haley’s groundbreaking television miniseries “Roots”, which aired in 1977.
This is a hybrid program. Visitors are welcome to hear the talk in person at Marietta Historic Site & Museum or online on TEAMS. Online visitors must register to receive the TEAMS link. To register, visit www.pgparksdirect.com and use ticket code: MHM-SPEC-GA-20261210. Walk-ins are welcome. In-person and online registration is $5/person. Ages 12 and older.
For more information on either program, please call 301-464-5291 or email mariettahouse@pgparks.com. Marietta Historic Site & Museum is located at 5626 Bell Station Road, Glenn Dale, MD, and is a property of the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission.
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