Winners of the Student iHistory WW2 Video Contest for Blackmagic Cinema Cameras Announced!

By: Jeffrey Worthington & iHistory WW2 Contest

We are proud to announce the winners of our iHistory WW2 video contest!  Congratulations to all our winners!  We are very proud of their effort and accomplishment!

Congratulations to Nolan Rugg as winner of the Grand Prize!  He won a Blackmagic Cinema Camera 2.5k, a Rokinon 35mm T1.5 Cine Lens, a SanDisk Extreme Solid State Drive 480GB, and $775 cash!

View his winning video “Valor and Victory: Tales From A World War Two Veteran”

Best Story Winner: James Bailey (TX) – “Jim Holzem – Los Banos Raid”  James won a Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera, a Panasonic Lumix 20mm f/1.7 Aspheric G- Series Lens, a SanDisk 32GB SDHC Memory Card Extreme, and $300 cash.

Best Editing Winner: Clark Burnett (NJ) – “Lou: A Century in the Making”  Clark won a Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera, a Panasonic Lumix 20mm f/1.7 Aspheric G- Series Lens, a SanDisk 32GB SDHC Memory Card Extreme, and $300 cash.

First Prize: Jake Hale (GA) – “Life and Death on the Volcano Islands”  Jake won a Manfrotto Tripod & Video Head, an Impact Light Kit, a Zoom H1 Ultra-Portable Digital Audio Recorder, and a SanDisk microSDHC Memory Card.

Second Prize: Adam Danzger (NJ) – “Gerald B. Gersten” Adam won a Manfrotto Tripod & Video Head, an Impact Light Kit, a Zoom H1 Ultra-Portable Digital Audio Recorder, and a SanDisk microSDHC Memory Card.

A BIG thank you to everyone who participated and submitted videos!  We are proud of each of you for taking the time to record a WWII veteran’s story!

Unfortunately, we did not meet our fundraising goals last month and thus will not be able to run our 2014 iHistory contest.  However, we hope that we can raise enough funds to initiate our 2015 iHistory contest by this Fall.  

If you have suggestions on fundraising and/or fundraising leads please contact us at: jeff@ihistoryproject.org

Meet our Panel of Judges! – iHistory WW2 Video Contest

By: Jeffrey Worthington & iHistory WW2 Contest

Thank you everyone for voting on our website for your favorite student videos!  From January 21-31, our special panel of seven judges will review the videos!  Their scores will be combined with the online votes to decide on the winners!  (see official rules for judging details)  We are pleased to have such a great panel of amazing people.  Read below to find out more about them!

Major General Scott A. Vander Hamm is the Commander of the Eighth Air Force (Air Forces Strategic) in Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana, and Joint Functional Component Commander for Global Strike, U.S. Strategic Command in Offutt AFB, Neb. “The Mighty Eighth” serves as the air component headquarters to USSTRATCOM for strategic deterrence, global strike, and its Joint Air Operations Center.

General Vander Hamm has received numerous service awards, among them are a Defense Superior Service Medal, a Distinguished Flying Cross, and a Bronze Star Medal.  Vander Hamm and his wife, Joanna, are the proud parents of 11 children and several grandchildren.

Rita Cosby is a special correspondent for the CBS news magazine “Inside Edition,” and host of WOR’s radio program, “The Rita Cosby Show.”  She has interviewed more than 20 world leaders, including five U.S. Presidents, and has spoken at the United Nations, Capitol Hill, and the Pentagon.  She is also a renowned Emmy®-winning TV host in NYC and has anchored highly rated primetime shows on Fox News Channel and NBC.

Rita’s critically acclaimed New York Times bestseller, “Quiet Hero: Secrets from My Father’s Past,”  tells about her father’s role during Wold War II as part of the Polish underground in Warsaw.

Sergeant (SFC) David D. Hack, U.S. Army (Ret.), grew up in Kentucky.  He joined the U.S. Coast Guard in 1957 at age 17 and served for four years.  In 1964 he enlisted in the Army and

while serving in the 1st Infantry Division in Vietnam in 1968 he was injured and awarded the Purple Heart for injuries that ended his military career.  After retiring from the Army, SFC Hack served as a police officer then later as a Chief of Police in Sebring, Ohio.

Today, Hack and his wife run a family operated company called U.S. Wings which supplies bomber jackets and aviation gear to all branches of the armed forces.

Kenny Saylors is a Nashville resident and an award-winning producer, director, and co-founder of Saylors Brothers Entertainment, Ltd.  He has created innovative television series and programs for CBS, FOX, CSN, TBN, and FamilyNet.  His music videos have topped the charts on MTV and BET.  He has also produced award-winning documentaries and feature films, such as “Kimjongilia,” and the upcoming film “Veil of Tears” (in theaters March 2014).  His work has been featured on Fox News, Newsweek, BBC, Time Magazine, NY Times, LA Times, Variety, Hollywood Reporter, Forbes, Huffington Post, Indie Wire, Charisma, and Christianity Today.

Dana Thiry Dildine is an educator and a real estate investor who currently resides in Ruidoso, New Mexico.  She has a Masters degree in Education from Arizona State University.  She has been in education for over twenty years in private and public schools, teaching grades ranging from elementary to college level.  While teaching at Holloman Air Force Base Middle School in New Mexico she recently helped it achieve the coveted National Blue Ribbon School Award from the Federal Department of Education.  Because of her passion for helping students learn history firsthand Dana has found it very rewarding to escort her classes to WWII museums and memorials to meet and talk with WWII veterans.

Ivan Agerton,  a former U. S. Marine, is a Photographer/Cinematographer based in Seattle Washington.  He and his two partners run Royal Galactic Media, a boutique production company that offers highly specialized services for companies such as Boeing and Lockheed Martin.  He travels internationally with clients to capture organic, emotional imagery.  Ivan is also one of RED Digital Cinema’s chief REDucation instructors.

Heidi Habben is the owner of CRASH+SUES, a creative media company in Minneapolis with domestic and international clients.  CRASH+SUES conceives and executes visual ideas including production, editing, visual effects, color, animation, and motion graphics.  Examples of their excellent work can be viewed at www.crash-sues.com.  Heidi has an utmost respect for our veterans and sees great value in teaching students about our heroes firsthand.

If you are a parent or educator interested in inspiring today’s youth by connecting them with American WWII veterans in an effort to collect their stories before they are lost forever, please visit our iHistory WW2 video contest website or find us on Facebook andTwitter!

Last Chance to Vote! Rate student WWII Oral History Videos – iHistory WW2 Video Contest

By: Heather Van Allen & Jeffrey Worthington

You can still get in on the vote to help choose the winners of the iHistory WW2 video contest. It’s easy! Just watch the videos online and give them each a star rating. Email and text the link (http://www.heroes-WW2.org) to your contacts, and share it on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and other social media sites, to get the word out to family, friends, classmates and others.

By watching the videos, you will learn about WWII from the perspectives of people—now living all over the US—who actually lived the war. History comes alive in these mini-documentaries, in ways you may not have experienced before.

Go online and vote! And while you’re at, you just might learn something new.

The voting closes TONIGHT (January 17th)!

If you are a parent or educator interested in inspiring today’s youth by connecting them with American WWII veterans in an effort to collect their stories before they are lost forever, please visit our iHistory WW2 video contest website or find us on Facebook andTwitter!

Voting has Started! Rate student WWII Oral History Videos – iHistory WW2 Video Contest

By: Jeffrey Worthington & iHistory WW2 Contest

iHistory Contest – Online Voting Started! Visit: http://www.heroes-WW2.org

The voting has begun!!!  Spread the word! 

Watch the submissions online and rate your favorite videos!

Share the link with your family, friends, and classmates!  http://www.heroes-WW2.org

Ask everyone you know, to vote!

Ask your teacher to share the website (www.Heroes-WW2.org) with your class!

Ask your school to share the link on their social networks!

If you are a parent or educator interested in inspiring today’s youth by connecting them with American WWII veterans in an effort to collect their stories before they are lost forever, please visit our iHistory WW2 video contest website or find us on Facebook and Twitter!

Great Holiday Movie for Students – The Book Thief – iHistory WW2 Video Contest for Teens

By: Janelle Worthington & iHistory WW2 Contest

The Book Thief – Now in theaters!

The Book Thief chronicles the story of a determined and spirited girl, Liesel, and her penchant for “borrowed” books.

The story begins in pre-war Germany, where Liesel, quiet and illiterate, arrives at her adoptive home with only a few belongings and a book she acquired from a gravedigger. With the loving support of her new Papa (Geoffrey Rush), she slowly begins to learn to read and write. The basement walls evolve into a giant dictionary. However, soon the basement shelters a secret and forbidden houseguest, and the family must take courage in their trust of each other in order to survive.

This houseguest helps Liesel to see beyond just the words themselves and challenges her to observe and write about what she sees outside the basement walls: “If your eyes could speak, what would they say?”

As Liesel and her family and friends struggle against hunger, illness, and the terror of air raids, she sees the value of using words to create stories to encourage those around her in their efforts to survive their harsh conditions.  Her courage becomes contagious!

This is an inspiring movie for youth, as it demonstrates the power of compassion, determination to learn, and the power of words.

It shows that once someone is motivated to learn and they are provided with compassion, encouragement, inspiration, and resources, they can succeed.  It is also a lesson to adults and teachers regarding the importance of using opportunities to give that compassion, encouragement, inspiration, and resources to those around us.

If you are interested in inspiring today’s youth by connecting them with American WWII veterans in an effort to collect the stories of our courageous veterans before they are lost forever, please visit our iHistory WW2 video contest website!  Public online voting of the entrants will be January 6-17, 2014!

Pearl Harbor Veterans Honored at US Navy Memorial in Washington DC – December 7, 2013 – iHistory WW2 Video Contest for Students

By: Jeffrey Worthington & iHistory WW2 Contest

On December 7th I had the honor of attending the Pearl Harbor memorial service at the US Navy Memorial in Washington DC.  Pearl Harbor survivors present were; Major Albert Grasselli, who was a PFC stationed at Ewa Beach Marine Airfield when the Japanese attacked, and STC Howard Snell who was stationed at Submarine Base, Pearl Harbor.

There were only two veterans of Pearl Harbor who were able to come. It’s sad to think that soon there won’t be any left.  Seeing them reminded me of the urgency of  connecting today’s youth with the Greatest Generation and collecting the remaining WWII veterans’ stories while we still can.  I am very grateful for the opportunity I had to know and interview a local New Mexico veteran of Pearl Harbor (read the story on my previous blog post) and I strive to inspire today’s youth to do the same via our iHistory WW2 video contest.

As a professional photographer I always have my camera with me.  Below are some of the moving event in Washington D.C.

Color Guard during a Pearl Harbor service at the US Navy Memorial in Washington DC.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

STC (SS) Howard Snell USN talking with JROTC students.

Rear Adm. Mark Rich, commandant of Naval District Washington, shakes the hand of Pearl Harbor survivor, Major Albert Grasselli, who was a PFC stationed at Ewa Beach Marine Airfield when the Japanese attacked. Grasselli is also a veteran of the Battle of Midway.

Lou Large, president of the Sons and Daughters of Pearl Harbor Survivors, speaking at the service.

A great group of JROTC students came for the event.

Left to right: Unknown Naval Office, Rear Adm. Mark Rich, Lou Large, and Pearl Harbor veterans STC Howard Snell, and Major Albert Grasselli.

It was moving to see the respect of the passersby.

A child bows his head during the chaplain’s prayer.

The Honor Guard.

Rear Adm. Mark Rich walks Lou Large to place a wreath.

Major Albert Grasselli shakes hand of a JROTC cadet.

STC (SS) Howard Snell, survivor of the Pearl Harbor attack, with iHistory Contest founder & project director, Jeffrey Worthington.

For updates and to learn more about the iHistory WW2 Contest, visit our website (www.ihistoryprojectww2.org), and be sure to LIKE us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter!

Help us continue the iHistory Contest by making a tax-deductible donation on our website: DONATE

Pearl Harbor Veterans Remembered – iHistory WW2 Video Contest for Students

By: Jeffrey Worthington & Heather Van Allen

Jeffrey Worthington speaking with WWII veteran, a survivor of the Pearl Harbor attack, Scotty Burrows. (Photo 2006)

On December 7, 1941, U.S. military servicemen woke up to what should have been a normal Sunday morning on the naval base at Pearl Harbor, on the south side of the Hawaiian island of Oahu. But everything changed at 7:55 a.m., when the Japanese launched a surprise attack. During the just under two hours that followed, Japanese planes attacked in two waves, focusing on eight U.S. battleships and either sinking or damaging each one. The assault also damaged 13 ships of other types, bringing the total number to 21. Additionally, the Japanese struck several American airfields with the goal of destroying planes on the ground to minimize counter-attacks by the U.S.  The raids left 2,335 U.S. servicemen dead and 1,143 wounded.

Founder of the iHistory WW2 Contest, Jeffrey Worthington, had the honor of interviewing  Scotty Burrows, a local New Mexican WWII veteran who was at Pearl Harbor when the Japanese attacked.

Burrows was the bugler at Pear Harbor the morning of December 7th, 1941.  He was standing with two other Marines at the flag poll waiting to sound morning First Call, but when Japanese planes screaming overhead, Burrows immediately called “Air Defense” instead.  He was ordered to grab a rifle and run down to the hospital because a Japanese plane had crashed into it and they wanted to see if there were any survivors they could take hostage.  Upon arriving at the hospital he found no survivors from the plane. He was then ordered to help guard a nearby airfield in case of a Japanese invasion, where he spent one of the longest nights of his life.  It was a common belief at the time that Japan might try to invade the islands that night.  For the next 14 days, Burrows was assigned to play Taps for the burials of the Americans killed in the attack.

Burrows served the rest of World War II as a Marine in the Pacific, and was part of the Battle of Tassafaronga aboard the USS Minneapolis.  Sadly, like too many WWII veterans, Burrows passed away a few years ago.  I once asked him if he had advice to today’s youth.  He responded, “Go to your library and learn. Go to the library and read. Go and listen. Watch the History Channel and the Discovery Channel.”

This Pearl Harbor Day, join us in remembering and honoring those who were lost 72 years ago today, as well as those who lived to tell the story.

Help us continue the iHistory Contest by making a tax-deductible donation on our website: DONATE

Delivered WWII Interviews to Veterans History Project – iHistory WW2 Video Contest for Students

By: Jeffrey Worthington & iHistory WW2 Contest

(L) Tim Holbert, project director of the American Veterans Center; (C) Jeffrey Worthington, founder/project director of the iHIstory Contest; (R) Bob Patrick, director of VHP.

We just dropped off the first batch of iHistory WW2 interviews for the Veterans History Project at the Library of Congress this morning! These were interviews of service men and women from nearly all the branches of the military, including one veteran who was 100 years old! We had student submissions from 17 states across the country, ranging from California to Massachusetts, and Alabama to Michigan.

Bob Patrick, Director of VHP, said “as a classroom component, iHistory allows students to expand both an individual and national understanding of wartime experiences.”

iHistory WW2 contest is proud to be working in cooperation with the Library of Congress’ Veterans History Project in helping to preserve the legacy of American servicemen and women.  The Library of Congress launched its efforts in 2000 and to date has collected nearly 90,000 veterans’ oral histories, of which over 30,000 have been of WWII veterans.  According to the National WWII Museum, there are still almost one million WWII servicemen alive and the iHistory WW2 contest is looking forward to playing a part in working with the Library of Congress to ensure that as many of these stories as possible live on for this generation and for those yet to come.  Learn more about the Veterans History Project.

For updates and to learn more about the iHistory WW2 Contest, visit our website (www.ihistoryprojectww2.org), and be sure to LIKE us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter!

Students Submit WWII Oral Histories For Chance to Win A Blackmagic Cinema Camera Prize – iHistory WW2 Video Contest

By: Jeffrey Worthington & iHistory WW2 Contest

We just finished processing the full length interviews of World War II veterans that students submitted from across the country!  This Friday we will deliver them to the Library of Congress!  Great work and a special thank you to everyone who participated!  The interviews look great!

The Worthington Foundation is proud to be working in cooperation with the Library of Congress’ Veterans History Project in helping preserve the legacy of American servicemen and women. The student’s full interviews of the veterans will be permanently archived in the American Folk Life Center of the Library of Congress.

Do you have a story about your experience in interviewing your veteran, or what you learned by participating in the contest?  Please send us your stories and feedback at: info@ihistoryproject.org

Again, thank you for your entries to the iHistory WW2 contest!

For updates and to learn more about the iHistory WW2 Contest, visit our website (www.ihistoryprojectww2.org), and be sure to LIKE us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter!

Thank You for Participating in the iHistory WW2 Video Contest!

By: Heather Van Allen & Jeffrey Worthington

Thank you to all who participated in the iHistory WW2 Video Contest!  We received video interview submissions from students all across the nation!  The involvement of teachers, parents, and others who showed a desire to help teens preserve the stories connected to such an important period of U.S. and world history was fantastic!

Submissions will be reviewed in Washington D.C. the first week of December.  Online public viewing and voting of the 3-5 minute videos will be January 6-17, 2014.

We would especially like to extend a heartfelt thank you to all of the WWII veterans who were a part of this project, and also for their service to our country!

Do you have a story about your experience in interviewing your veteran, or what you learned by participating in the contest?  Please send us your stories and feedback at: info@ihistoryproject.org and we may use it in a future blog.

Again, thank you for your entries to the iHistory WW2 contest!  You have made a positive mark on history!

For updates visit the iHistory WW2 website (www.ihistoryprojectww2.org), and be sure to LIKE us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter!