Shown above is Advanced Placement History teacher Kevin Wagner of Carlisle High School in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Kevin garnered a Teacher of the Year award given by the Veterans of Foreign Wars. He earned the honor for his unwavering dedication towards honoring America’s veterans.

The Veterans of Foreign Wars, also known as the VFW, named three stellar educators as their Teachers of the Year for 2018-2019. One of these is Kevin Wagner, an Advanced Placement History teacher at Carlisle High School in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Kevin earned the distinction because of his unwavering dedication towards honoring the memory of American veterans.

With colleagues, Kevin developed a research project for his students called “Silent Heroes.” To complete this project, the students must research the life and service of a local World War II veteran who perished in the Normandy Invasion. The invasion occurred on the northern coast of France on June 6, 1944. The battle turned the tide of the war in Europe. Once the students complete their research, they create a web page that preserves the veteran’s legacy.

Last year, Kevin expanded his project to identify local Viet Nam War veterans. As a result, his students constructed a Viet Nam Wall of Honor where they display names of more than 213 veterans. The veterans Kevin’s students honor were former students of their school.

Each year, the VFW names one elementary, one intermediate, and one high school teacher for their National Citizenship Education Teacher Award. Bobbie Schamens, a fourth grade teacher at Meadowview Intermediate School in Sparta, Wisconsin, was named the elementary school winner. Anne Martin was named the middle school honoree. Anne is a seventh grade Language Arts and Social Studies teacher at Williams Middle School in Tracy, California.

To view some of the projects created by Kevin’s students and other students, click on this link: National History Day Silent Heroes.