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National History Day Summary
By Capt. Jim Noone, USNR (Ret.)
The NHF featured Rebecca Bemiss’s presentation at its August 12, awards luncheon.
Two students and seven teachers from around the country were awarded prizes by the NHF for outstanding projects with naval/maritime themes in the annual National History Day (NHD) competition that concluded June 19.
Winners of the coveted NHF Coskey Prizes for Naval History were Jessie Henderson of Bradley Central High School in Cleveland, TN, and Rebecca Bemiss of John F. Kennedy Middle School in Plantsville, CT. Ms. Henderson’s project was a Senior Individual Documentary entitled “Aerographer’s Mates: Communicating Weather from Sea to Shining Sea.” Ms. Bemiss’ entry was a Junior Individual Performance entitled “Mavis Batty and the Geese That Never Cackled.” The Coskey Prizes are awarded in both senior (high school) and junior (middle school) divisions.
Each received a $1,000 Coskey Prize award. Links to the two students’ video presentations will be published in a forthcoming issue of the International Journal of Naval History (www.ijnhonline.org). NHF established the prizes in 1999 and later renamed them in honor of the late Captain Ken Coskey, Navy pilot, Vietnam prisoner of war, and former NHF executive director.
In addition, NHF Teacher of Distinction awards went to seven teachers in middle or high school whose students (a) win Coskey Prizes or (b) are ranked first, second, or third nationally in their categories for projects with a naval or maritime theme. These awards consist of $200 honorariums, NHF Certificates of Achievement, one-year NHF memberships, and access to NHF Navy-related research assistance.
Following are the Teacher of Distinction winners: • Julie Mitchell, teacher at Bradley Central High School in
Cleveland, TN, for the Coskey Prize–winning project by student Jessie Henderson. Remarkably, it was the second straight year that student Henderson and Ms. Mitchell received the Coskey and Teacher of Distinction awards, respectively, in the NHD competition. • Brian Zawadniak, teacher at John F. Kennedy School,
Plantsville, CT, whose student, Rebecca Bemiss, won the
Coskey Prize. • Stephanie Hammer, teacher at William Monroe Middle
School, Stanardsville, VA. Her students Kayla Shaller and
Caroline Bruton won 1st place for their Junior Group
Documentary, “Communicating Through Cell Walls: The
Secret Correspondence of American POWs in Vietnam.” • Megan Souchek, teacher at New Caney High School, New
Caney, TX. Student Carter Holton earned 1st place for his
Senior Individual Exhibit, “The 1900 Storm.” • Justin Carroll, teacher at Deer Creek Middle School,
Edmond, OK. Students Jemay Leow, Carter Robbins, and
Jacob Rubin won 3rd place for their Junior Group Exhibit,
“Navajo Code Talkers: Their Story of Communication.” • Alfred Meadows, teacher at Wilbur Cross High School, New
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Haven, CT. Students Sneha Maskey and KeQing Tan won 3rd place for a Senior Group Website entry, “Communicating
Through Code: Elizabeth Friedman’s Crackdown on Nazi
Spy Rings During World War II.” • Cathy Kaus, teacher at Chadron Senior High School,
Chadron, NE. Her son, student Tyler Kaus, was awarded the Senior Division Physical Science Prize for his Senior
Individual Documentary, “Grace Hopper: Computer
Programmer.” The project honored the late Navy Rear
Admiral Grace Hopper, the famed computer programming pioneer.
Over half a million middle and high school students from the United States, District of Columbia, territories, and international schools in China, Korea, and South Asia participate annually in NHD. Each year some 3,000 student finalists and several hundred teachers descend on the University of Maryland in College Park, Maryland, in mid-June for the final rounds of the national competition. This year, as in 2020, the competition was conducted in a virtual format due to the coronavirus pandemic.
NHD has a broad theme for the contest every year. This year’s theme was “Communication in History: The Key to Understanding.” Student projects are expected to be consistent with the NHD theme. There are five project categories: papers, exhibits, documentaries, websites, and performances. Students competing in all categories except papers may do so as individuals or in groups of two to five students. Competition begins at individual schools, with the top middle and high school winners advancing to regional, state, and national competitions.
In the four years since the Teacher of Distinction award was initiated, NHF has recognized 43 teachers from 25 states and one territory, Guam.
“It’s encouraging to have such widespread interest in naval and maritime history by teachers and students,” said Adm. William Fallon, USN (Ret.), NHF chairman. “While the students receive the NHD awards—as they should—we’re very pleased to recognize the teachers who inspire the students to produce such outstanding naval and maritime projects.”
Teachers are generally elated to receive the awards. In learning of this year’s award, teacher Alfred Meadows of Wilbur Cross High School in New Haven, CT, exclaimed, “I’m flattered by my award; it was unexpected. I thank the Naval Historical Foundation for this honor. I am most excited about framing my certificate!”
Combat Documentation Det. 206 to Stand Down
For decades, NHHC’s reserve unit, the Navy Combat Documentation Detachment 206, collected large amounts of information on current operations. With the end of the war in Afghanistan and changing Navy Reserve billet priorities, assigned Navy Reserve billets supporting the NHHC’s combat documentation and collections mission are to be phased out. The Navy Reserve will defund the unit after this fiscal year. Tracing its lineage to World War II, the unit, manned by only reservists, collected historical records and interviews for use in official histories, as well as to provide operational historical support to Fleet staffs . During its thirty-five year existence, reservists were sent, many having advanced degrees in history, to cover operations in the Balkans – in the 1990s, Operation Desert Fox, the Cole bombing, Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom, as well as operations on the Horn of Africa and in the Pacific. One of the most notable collection efforts followed in the wake of the attacks on 9/11 (links from the NHHC website below). The unit also conducted numerous end-oftour interviews with departing senior flag officers and senior naval officials. In addition, the unit often provided reservists to the Joint History Office to participate in joint combat documentation teams to support Combatant Commander collection needs. With the phase out of the NHHC’s reserve unit, the NHHC will need to lean on the other service’s active duty and reserve service members who currently perform this mission to fill-in when the US Navy needs operational historical support, collection and documentation in forward deployed combat zones.
