The Smith/O'Grady team was one of fifteen student/teacher teams selected, based on their essays and other qualifications, out of 88 teams who applied.

"It's an incredible opportunity and an incredible honor," says Mr. O'Grady, who is an academic intervention tutor at Rocky River Middle School. "This is something I've always wanted to do, both as an air force officer, to honor the men who so bravely died on D-day, and also as an historian, to see the cemetery and Normandy Beach." 

Mr. O'Grady was honored by NHD as Ohio Teacher of the Year last year, and it was at the yearly NHD seminar that he first heard of the opportunity. "You have to apply as a team," he says, "and it has to be a sophomore or junior. They want us to be able to share our experience with kids at the school next year." When deciding on the student with whom he should apply, Mr. O'Grady immediately felt that Teagan met all the criteria. "He's in his third year of NHD, and he's so dedicated and so interested in history. Last year he went to states with his NHD project and he also won the gold-medal in-house [at Rocky River] along with two other students. Plus, he's in [Sara] Ziemnik's US History Class, and it's an area of great interest to him. It was a tough choice because there were so many deserving kids, but Teagan was such a deserving student, with all the right NHD background and interest in US history."

In fact, when Teagan and Mr. O'Grady applied, Teagan decided his NHD project this year would focus on D-Day, whether or not the two were chosen for the Summer Institute. The fact that they have been means that all the research he is doing into D-Day will enhance his understanding and enjoyment of this summer's trip. 

An element of the trip that means a great deal to Mr. O'Grady personally is the opportunity for him and Teagan to research a local soldier who died on D-Day at Normandy Beach. Mr. O'Grady explains: "We will select a soldier from the Cleveland area who died at Normandy and who is buried at the American Cemetery in Normandy. Teagan and I will research that soldier's life and on the last day of our trip, at the American Cemetery in Normandy, we give a eulogy for him at the cemetery, which we can share with the family." He notes the two have not yet identified the soldier whom they will honor. "I just can't imagine how emotional it's going to be once we get there," says this Air Force veteran, "and especially when we find the soldier's family."

Mr. O'Grady looks forward to sharing his experiences and the information he learns with students in the future. "[Principals] Rob Winton and Megan Rose are very excited about it and would like us to share this experience with them. NHD also asked us to do some educational presentations about it as well, so we'll do whatever we're asked to do. Certainly we'll have a slideshow of photos. It's an amazing honor, and for me as a history teacher it's something I can share with my students forever, both in History classes and as an NHD advisor." 

---

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Mr. Frank O'Grady and student Teagan Smith of Rocky River have been selected for an extraordinary opportunity to tell the story of a fallen WWII hero from Ohio and honor them with a eulogy delivered at the Normandy American Cemetery overlooking Omaha Beach. O'Grady and Smith were selected from applicants across the country to join fourteen other student and teacher teams on this educational journey. Each team selects a Silent Hero who gave his or her life in World War II during or after the Normandy landings of D-Day and who is memorialized at the Normandy American Cemetery. Teams spend a year researching the story of their Silent Hero through historical research using primary sources such as war records, draft cards, and interviews with family members. Their year concludes with a journey to Normandy, France where Smith will present a eulogy at the memorial of this Silent Hero.

O'Grady is a social studies teacher working as an Academic Intervention Tutor and National History Day Advisor at Rocky River Middle/High School in Rocky River, Ohio. O'Grady was an officer in the U.S. Air Force and received the Behring Teacher of the Year Award for Ohio in 2015. His student, Teagan Smith, is a three-time National History Day participant and is also active in the high school's Model UN program.

In June 2016, O'Grady and Smith will join the other fourteen teams in Washington, D.C. to finish their research with help from the National Archives, historians, and college professors. While in D.C. they will tour the World War II Memorial, attend a dinner hosted by the White House Historical Association and prepare for the voyage of a lifetime. The final leg of their journey is to Normandy, France where they will walk in the footsteps of their Silent Hero. After visiting museums, historic sites, and churches that were used as field hospitals, the group visits the Normandy American Cemetery. There, Smith presents a eulogy at the grave of the Silent Hero he has spent the year researching. Participants in the program are only responsible for the cost of travel to and from Washington, D.C. Travel to France, meals, board, and programs are all paid for by the Institute.

"Throughout their research these students and teachers become deeply connected to their Silent Heroes," said National History Day Executive Director Dr. Cathy Gorn. "When Teagan presents the eulogy, he will be reading a eulogy for someone he knows, someone whose story he is responsible for telling. It results in a powerful, and often tearful, understanding of the sacrifice Teagan's Silent Hero made in WWII."

The Normandy: Sacrifice for Freedom Albert H. Small Student and Teacher Institute seeks to teach a new generation about the sacrifices and challenges faced during World War II. The program is coordinated by National History Day and is funded by a generous donation from Mr. Albert H. Small, a veteran himself.

Throughout the program, students and teachers create a website that documents the story and sacrifice of their Silent Heroes. These websites live on as a digital memorial to the brave men who are memorialized at the Normandy American Cemetery. After participating in the program, teams present the story of their Silent Hero to local schools, community groups, and veteran's organizations.

"These digital records of the life and actions of a Silent Hero live on long after these teams return," said Gorn. "They serve as a digital monument to the sacrifices made by the fallen." Through their research, students and teachers will help tell the stories of 15 more Silent Heroes of WWII. To date, the Normandy: Sacrifice far Freedom Albert H. Small Student & Teacher Institute has told the stories of 80 Silent Heroes.

About National History Day
NHD is a non-profit education organization in College Park, MD. Established in 1974, NHD offers year-long academic programs that engage over half a million middle- and high-school students around the world annually in conducting originol research on historical topics of interest. These research-based projects are entered into contests at the local and affiliate levels, where the top student projects have the opportunity to advance to the National Contest at the University of Maryland at College Park. NHD also seeks to improve the quality of history education by providing professional development opportunities and curriculum materials for educators. NHD is sponsored in part by Kenneth E. Behring, Patricia Behring, HISTORY, Jostens, the Notional Endowment for the Humanities, the Notional Park Service, Southwest Airlines, the Joe Weider Foundation, and the WEM 2000 Foundation of the Dorsey & Whitney Foundation. For more information, visit nhd.org.