Christopher Stewart and Even DuFresne will spend a year researching a local World War II veteran for the Normandy Scholar program. Their efforts will culminate in a trip to France to visit the soldier’s grave at the Normandy American Cemetery.
Evan DuFresne of North Lakes Academy Charter School has been accepted into the prestigious Normandy: Sacrifice for Freedom Albert H. Small Student and Teacher Institute.
Along with North Lakes teacher Christopher Stewart, DuFresne will embark on a yearlong course of study that concludes with a journey to Normandy, France, to honor a World War II Silent Hero who died during or after the D-Day landings.
Stewart and DuFresne join 14 other student and teacher teams from around the country on this educational journey.
“To start, we gave a general presentation to the entire student body about what this opportunity entailed,” Stewart said. “Eventually we narrowed things down to three interested students.”
The students were tasked with writing an essay about what it would mean to them to embark on a journey to discover the true story and sacrifice of a World War II soldier.
“These students were the cream of the crop here at North Lakes and it was a near impossible task to choose only one,” Stewart said. “What made Evan rise to the top was his family history of military service and his own personal dedication to service.”
DuFresne, a junior at North Lakes, joined the Civil Air Patrol cadet program in seventh grade. The program allows young people to progress through a 16-step process, including aerospace education, leadership training, physical fitness and moral leadership. Cadets compete for academic scholarships to further their studies in fields such as engineering, science, aircraft mechanics, aerospace medicine, meteorology, as well as many others. Those cadets who earn cadet officer status may enter the Air Force as an E3 (airman first class) rather than an E1 (airman basic). In his five years with the program, DuFresne rose to the rank of cadet chief master sergeant.
“The first year that we applied, we were actually not chosen,” Stewart said. “This program is supported by National History Day, and so I tracked down one of the judges and asked how we could improve our chances when we reapplied. She told me to show how we have changed.”
DuFresne thought long and hard about how important getting selected for the Normandy program was and decided that a big change was necessary to impress the judges. He resigned from the CAPS program and put off his plans to join the Army National Guard for one year to focus solely on the Normandy project.
“I really believe that his willingness to take a hiatus from something that was so meaningful and important to him was enough to convince the judges that he was serious,” Stewart said. “Our second time around, we were one of 15 schools accepted from a pool of 75 to 100 applicants.”
Each student-teacher team selects one Silent Hero from its hometown or region who is memorialized at the Normandy American Cemetery. Stewart and DuFresne will spend a year uncovering the life story of this individual through readings, historical research and primary sources such as war records, draft cards, or interviews with descendants. Currently, the two are exploring options regarding whom to choose.
Overseas travel, courses, materials and even room and board are paid for through the generosity of Albert H. Small. Small, an engineer who was the director of Home Properties of New York Inc. from July 1999 until May 4, 2004, serves on the Board of Directors of the National Symphony Orchestra, National Advisory Board Music Associates of Aspen, Department of State Diplomatic Rooms Endowment Fund, James Madison Council of the Library of Congress, Tudor Place Foundation, The Life Guard of Mount Vernon, Historical Society of Washington, D.C., and the National Archives Foundation. The University of Virginia Library and the Smithsonian National Museum of American History have named rooms for him. The Albert H. Small Declaration of Independence Collection in the University of Virginia Library is the most comprehensive in the world about the document. Small has funded the Normandy Scholar program for the past two years.
In June 2017, Stewart and DuFresne will travel to Washington, D.C., to finish their research with help from the National Archives, historians and college professors. While in D.C. they will tour the World War II Memorial, attend a dinner sponsored by the White House Historical Association and prepare for the voyage of a lifetime. The final leg of their journey is to Normandy, France, where they will stand on the beaches of D-Day, walking in the footsteps of their chosen Silent Hero. After visiting museums, sites of historic battles and churches that were used as field hospitals, the group will visit the Normandy American Cemetery. There, DuFresne will deliver a graveside eulogy for the Silent Hero he spent the year researching.
“I think the one thing that will really affect me the most is standing at his graveside,” DuFresne said. “I think that will be the ultimate culmination of a year’s worth of hard work and sacrifice. That is, I believe, when everything will finally be real for me.”