WWII TIME LINE
CHALLENGE: Remember ONE of the 16 MILLION that served during World War II.
"Be the Difference"
START CHALLENGE AND TAKE ACTION:
16,112,566 served
405,399 killed
670,847 wounded
CHALLENGE:
REMEMBER INDIVIDUAL AMERICAN HEROES and the TRUE MEANING OF "MEMORIAL DAY" AND "VETERANS DAY"
ACTION:
CONSIDER DONATING TO ANY OF THE FOLLOWING ORGANIZATIONS
Fisher House Foundation has provided “a home away from home” for families of patients receiving medical care at major military and VA medical centers. These homes offer free, temporary lodging to military and veterans’ families, allowing them to be close to their loved one during a medical crisis and focus on what’s important - the healing process. There are 78 Fisher Houses located in the US, Germany and United Kingdom. Since inception, the program has saved military and veterans’ families an estimated $400+ million in out of pocket costs for lodging and transportation.
Homes for Our Troops is a privately funded nonprofit organization that builds mortgage-free, specially adapted homes nationwide for severely injuried Veteran Post - 9/11, to enable them to rebuild their lives.
Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund is a leader in supporting the men and women of the Armed Forces and their families. 100% of donations go directly to the program. (The Board of Trustees of the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund underwrites all administrative costs and no portion of contributions are deducted.)
The Tunnel to Towers Foundation builds mortgage-free smart homes for catastrophically injured veterans and first responders. In addition, the foundation pays off the mortgages of military, law enforcement officers and firefighters and who lose their lives in the line of duty or to 9/11 related illness with young children.
Note: Statistics are from American Battle Monuments Commission, The National World War II Museum, and "Principal Wars of Conflicts in Which the United States Participated: U.S. Military Personnel Serving and Casualties" from Nese F. DeBruyne and Anne Leland, "American War and Military Operations Casualties: Lists and Statistics," Congressional Research Service Report RL32492.
Share the candle and...
"If you are not indifferent - things can be different."
"We must remember - not to forget."
Elizabeth Bettina
TAKING IT A STEP FURTHER!
Learn About a Service Member choosing a name from the list and adding the name on your Facebook page, challenging all your friends on your Facebook page to do the same. You can also add the name of a family member or friend who served in World War II. Consider doing this as a family activity and teach your children about the meaning of Veterans Day and Memorial Day.
We are providing websites that list information about individual service members, divided in two categories:
- Army and Army Air Forces
- Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard
To find out about a service member, you need to be a detective, putting pieces of a puzzle together, writing down information about an individual who served in WWII.
Start with:
- Name
- State
- City or County
- Branch of Service
Some words from students that have already done the work:
"Learning about the lives and deaths of these soldiers has inspired me with the desire to tell others about their impact on the war and essentially on the lives of American citizens... Taking the time to recognize, if only for a moment, one person and the value of their life
is important."
(Brandon Rickett)
"I learned that every single headstone represents the life of an actual, ordinary person. I learned that each veteran has a unique and interesting story, even if we have very little or no information about the person."
(Katie Alexander)
"I learned that honoring soldiers is important so as to not forget their sacrifice, but also in order to raise awareness to keep horrors like the war from happening again. I also learned to value human life, as I feel like in wartime sometimes people become numbers and statistics, but they have stories."
(Alyssa Hoover)