Interview with Stephanie Carr, National History Day Georgia Educator Selected for Researching Silent Heroes Program
Stephanie Carr
Stephanie Carr, AP US History and AP American Government teacher at Lithia Springs High School, has been selected as one of the 61 educators taking part in the National History Day (NHD) Researching Silent Heroes program. As part of this special research cohort, sponsored by the American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC), Carr will receive six months of training with historians and research specialists to help uncover the life of an individual who served in the United States military.
Why is this project important to you?
This project is deeply important to me because it offers a chance to restore a voice to someone who was silenced by war. When I learned about Lance Corporal Albert Brigham, I was struck not just by his sacrifice in Vietnam, but by the profound context of his service. Here was a young African American man from Savannah who, in 1966, chose to enlist and fight for a country that did not yet afford him the full measure of freedom and equality he was defending for others. His story is a powerful testament to a type of patriotism that is complex, deeply personal, and often overlooked. Bringing his story to life is a way to honor his choice and his service in a tangible way. For a soldier whose remains were never brought home, giving his narrative a permanent place in our collective memory feels like a form of homecoming. It’s an opportunity to ensure that his identity is not just a name on a memorial wall, but a story of courage, conviction, and the human experience behind the uniform.
How do you see this research experience benefiting yourself and/or your students?
As an educator, this experience is invaluable on two fronts. For myself, it is a chance to move from teacher to historian, engaging in the hands-on, primary source research that brings the past to life. It’s an exercise in empathy and critical thinking, forcing me to connect disparate pieces of information to build a human story. More importantly, this project serves as a powerful model for my students participating in National History Day. I can use my journey researching Lance Corporal Brigham to guide them through their own projects. It will allow me to show them, rather than just tell them, how to dig deeper than a textbook, how to handle sensitive topics with respect, and how to find the compelling, individual stories that make history resonate. This experience will equip me with real-world examples and troubleshooting strategies to help them navigate their own research challenges and, hopefully, inspire them to find a similar personal connection to their chosen topics.
Has being an NHD educator helped you find opportunities like Researching Silent Heroes?
While I didn’t learn about the Silent Heroes project through an official National History Day channel, the NHD community was directly responsible for this opportunity. I was fortunate enough to learn about it from a parent of a student who participated in NHD last year. This connection is a perfect example of the passionate and engaged community that NHD fosters. It highlights how the network of students, parents, and educators involved in NHD creates a unique ecosystem where powerful historical opportunities and resources are shared. So, while my role as an NHD educator wasn’t the direct source, the community it surrounds me with was the catalyst.
