Medal of Honor Valor Trail Brigs Heroes to Life

Good morning, and thank you for joining us. 

In the lead-up to the nation’s semiquincentennial celebrations, Nexus has been spotlighting resources that highlight the central themes and stories in our nation’s founding. One of those organizations is the American Battlefield Trust, an organization focused on US battlefield preservation and educating the public on the importance of US military history. 

Today, we’re proud to announce to you a newly released tool from the Trust that connects users with some of the nation’s most heroic warriors. Let’s get to it. 

***

At the heart of the American Battlefield Trust is a deep belief in the power of place. Places, and the histories that have shaped them, have a unique ability to teach meaningful and compelling lessons to future generations. 

In light of that belief, the Trust has launched the Medal of Honor Valor Trail™, a collaborative effort with the Congressional Medal of Honor Society. Its goal is to place valor on the map, tangibly connecting the remarkable stories of Medal of Honor (MOH) recipients to the places that shaped their lives, experiences, and legacies. 

The Valor Trail is a marriage of story and place for the full lineage of the Medal of Honor, a physical and digital manifestation of the places most deeply connected with MOH recipients from the Civil War through the 21st century: battlefields, birth and burial places, namesake sites, monuments, and museums. The Valor Trail, a website and mobile app, connects powerful stories to tangible places, creating meaningful connections to the past. 

The platform also includes a growing series of dynamic videos, including a North Carolina-focused video that debuted this week. Titled “Medal of Honor: North Carolina,” the video highlights the stories of a wide range of recipients with Tar Heel connections, from native sons who fought on foreign battlefields to those who came here to train as warriors and carried those skills with them into combat. Furthermore, the feature showcases soldiers who returned to North Carolina after their time in uniform, highlighting their impact in NC communities before their deaths and military funerals. 

The new featured video went live on Wednesday, March 25, National Medal of Honor Day, marking the anniversary of the first MOH being awarded in 1863. Today, the Medal’s origins are commemorated with events at key sites across the nation, including a solemn wreath-laying in Arlington National Cemetery.

“The Medal of Honor represents the very best of what we as Americans aspire to be, and marrying those incredible stories to the places where we can feel closest to them, we hope to inspire a new generation to live up to our highest promise and purpose,” American Battlefield Trust President David Duncan observed.  

Beyond its core land preservation mission, the Trust has also become a leader in the field of history education, with resources for classrooms and lifelong learners alike. Last year, the Medal of Honor Valor Trail™ app received a silver recognition in the Anthem Awards for best use of data. And its innovative video content, produced in partnership with the award-winning Wide Awake Films, has garnered a variety of accolades. 

The new videos include stories from the Civil War, World War I, World War II, Korea, Vietnam, and the War on Terror, touching on contributions made by soldiers, sailors, and Marines. Stretching in its narrative from the coast to the mountains, it visits hometowns, alma maters, battlefields, namesake sites, training bases, and final resting places. 

By this summer, you’ll also be able to access the Valor Trail and other American Battlefield Trust resources in Welcome Centers across our state. This week, Nexus highlighted the new North Carolina History Explorer kiosk on the third floor of the General Assembly building in Raleigh. ABT plans to install eight more kiosks across the state in the next several months. 

Today, our piece is a little shorter than normal. We encourage you to use the extra time and explore the stories of some of our nation’s greatest heroes. By connecting with the past, we understand the context of our present historical moment, the sacrifices it took to arrive here, and what it takes to continue to pursue America’s founding ideal – freedom.

We’ll leave you with this quote from MOH recipient and Korean War veteran Thomas J. Hudner: “Our Freedom, envied the world over, was attained at great personal sacrifice – we cannot allow it to wither away through apathy.”

Watch The Medal of Honor: North Carolina and hundreds of other Trust videos at www.youtube.com/AmericanBattlefieldTrust and learn about the Medal of Honor Valor Trail™ at www.valortrail.org.