Grant Hedgepeth (IV) Recognized for WWII Essay

Each year, the American Battle Monuments Foundation hosts a Past is Prologue essay contest, an opportunity for students between ages eleven and eighteen to submit an original work on a selected historical topic. This year, the prompts were: “WWII Operation Bodyguard Deception & Misdirection” and “WWII Air Dominance that enabled the D-Day invasion.” A self-proclaimed WWII enthusiast, Grant Hedgepeth (IV) entered the contest with his essay “How the Allies Achieved Air Dominance,” which earned him second place in the 13-15 age group.

“I’ve been interested in history since a very young age,” Grant says. “Learning about WWII came a bit later, but in close succession, and from there, it just snowballed.” An engaging and informative history curriculum and assigned essays are an ingrained part of life for RL students. Grant indicated his time at RL has helped him advance his passion for history and aid him in the general practice of good essay writing. With these tools and interests in his arsenal, Grant was ready for an opportunity. Luckily for Grant, he stumbled upon this essay contest entirely by chance! 

Aside from choosing from one of two topics, the contest asks submitters to answer two additional questions: What lessons from this specific event are helpful for today, and what difference did this event make to (the submitter’s) own life today and in the future? The submissions are graded on a rubric that includes accuracy of historical events, composition and writing style, originality, and completion of the mandatory questions. 

Six pages, eighteen cited sources, and just shy of 1,500 words later, Grant crafted an essay worthy of recognition. “We were driving to dinner, and they called us,” Grant stated, describing how the foundation informed him of his accolade. “It was exciting!” 

Read Grant’s article here.