Gerald Holland’s great-uncle Earnest Thornton Holloway left his Poquoson home to serve in World War II. He was killed at 19 in the 1944 Battle of Leyte Gulf.
Holland, a history teacher at Smithfield High, uses his authentic stories to personify history and applied for National History Day’s Silent Heroes program to support it. He recently learned he was one of 56 around the country awarded the grant and it will help him support research and teach about U.S. veterans.
“I figured that will be another great way to help my students understand that these were real individuals who did really great things,” he said, “both during the war and, the way the project works out is, really great things after the war and before as well.”
Through the year-long program, Holland’s dual enrollment U.S. history students will research WWII veterans U.S. Coast Guard Aviation Machinist’s Mate 1st Class Zenas Elbert Fearing Sr. and U.S. Coast Guard Lt. Cmdr. John Joseph Macionis…