1st Prize Abby P. - Chandler, AZ
1st Prize Rosemary A. - Montgomery, AL
1st Prize Reeve S. - Wilmington, DE
Are you eligible?
Students compete within their age group:
11-12 years
13-15 years
16-18 years
All students are invited to participate – public, private, parochial, charter, military and homeschoolers welcome!
Each student must have an adult editor, generally a parent or guardian. The adult editor helps steer research activities, supports the development of the essay theme, checks grammar, spelling and punctuation, and leads discussion of the two mandatory questions:
- What lessons from this specific event are useful for us today?
- What difference did it make to your own life today and for your future?
Both you and your adult editor must certify that your essay is an original work. We check for the use of AI, and essays found to have been written with AI will be disqualified.
Prizes
Age Group: 11-12
- 1st Prize: $5,000
- 2nd Prize: $2,500
- 3rd Prize: $1,500
Age Group: 13-15
- 1st Prize: $10,000
- 2nd Prize: $5,000
- 3rd Prize: $2,500
Age Group: 16-18
- 1st Prize: $10,000
- 2nd Prize: $5,000
- 3rd Prize: $2,500
- June 6, 2024 marks the 80th anniversary of the World War II D-Day invasion along the coast of Normandy, France. It was the largest amphibious landing in military history, and more than 156,000 Allied troops attacked the enemy lines from both sea and air. The ocean ran red from the blood of the first waves of men killed as they stormed the beaches.
- At the Normandy American Military Cemetery, 10,944 American service members are buried or memorialized (remains missing) for their sacrifice during the D-Day landings and follow-on operations. D-Day was the beginning of the end of WWII in Europe.
- What led up to this massive logistical and strategic success? This year, the ABMF Past is Prologue Essay Contest invites students to explore two strategies that shaped this incredible historical event.
2024 Past is Prologue Essay Contest Topics:
Topic 1:
WW II Operation Bodyguard
Deception & Misdirection
Operation Bodyguard was a well-coordinated deception campaign to fool the Nazis about when and where an invasion would take place. It involved tactics such as creating a fake infantry, complete with its own insignia patch; building fake tanks, weaponry and other military equipment to throw off aerial imagery; recruiting double agents; and sending misleading radio traffic that was intended to be intercepted.
How were the innovative technologies and communications strategies used in OperationBodyguard created and used?
Topic 2:
Air Dominance that enabled
the D-Day invasions
The Allies’ air dominance over Normandy meant that all the Allied troops could get across the English Channel without air attacks from the German Luftwaffe. Three elements ensured air superiority:
- Preliminary bombardments: The B-17 “Flying Fortress” was a magnificent machine that, arranged as a convoy with a specific formation in the air, could carry bombs, shoot enemy aircraft, and defend itself.
- Troop delivery: In foggy darkness, 8,000 British and 16,000 U.S. paratroopers and glider infantrymen dropped behind enemy lines from gliders and planes with a mission to limit German movement across important roads and bridges.
- Escort fighters and their role as combat air support: Considered by WWII pilots to be the best aircraft for air-to-air combat, the P-51 Mustang was a fighter plane that didn’t carry much fuel and had to accompany and protect the bombers.
Taken together, the aircraft that made the D-Day invasions possible provided not just the military power to win the fight, but also gave a morale boost to the soldiers on the ground. They knew that air assets were above and that a simple “show of force” could alter the ground battles.
Discuss the techniques that these different aircraft used in collaboration with each other to achieve air dominance that none of them alone could achieve.
Two Mandatory Questions
Whichever topic you choose, be sure to answer the mandatory questions. (There are no “right answers.” This shows how you see the relevance of the topic to your own life.)
- What lessons from this specific event are useful for us today?
- What difference did this event make to your own life today and for your future?
Composition Details
Each essay must be written in English. If English is not the first language of the student, that should be noted on the application form. Applications and Essays must be submitted online at [email protected].
Essays must be:
- Typed, Double Spaced, 1inch margins
- Font, Size: Times New Roman, 12 pt.
- Save and send as a PDF
- Include your name and state on the first page only of your essay
If, after sending in your application, you don’t get an immediate response with your Unique Participant ID number, please check your spam folder. If our email to you is not there, please reach out to us at [email protected]. There may be some incompatibility between servers. Thank you.
Minimum & maximum word-count
- Students ages 11-12: 800 – 1,000 words
- Students ages 13-15: 1,200 – 1,500 words
- Students ages 16-18: 1,500 – 1,800 words
References are not included in word count.
Quoted material should be used sparingly and must include a citation of author, publication and date.
*The use of Artificial Intelligence sources such as ChatGPT is prohibited. Essays written with the help of AI bots will be disqualified.
Judging Criteria
There are three rounds of judging, and the decisions of the third-round Review Committee are final. Judges and the Review Committee will not see the student’s name but will only see a unique Participant ID for each essay submission.
*The use of Artificial Intelligence sources is prohibited. Essays written with the help of AI will be disqualified.
- Accuracy of historical events. Include relevant facts such as who, what, when, where, why, and how. Document your source material at the end of the essay. References are not included in the minimum and maximum word count for the essay.
- Composition and writing style. Correct grammar, spelling and punctuation are expected.
- Originality. Essay submission should show imagination while not straying from the facts, and be of human interest.
- Two mandatory questions. There are no right or wrong responses, but they must be answered from the student’s perspective.
Participate now!
1. Fill-out and send the Application Form. Both the student and the adult guardian must sign the Application Form.
You’ll receive a confirmation that your application has been received, and you’ll be sent a unique Participant ID number.
2. Using your unique Participant ID number, upload your essay no later than April 12, 2024 at midnight, Mountain Time.
You’ll receive a confirmation that your essay has been received.
Winners will be announced on Gold Star Mother’s and Family’s Day, September 24, 2024.
Please read the Essay Contest Details for complete information. And, feel free to contact us with questions at [email protected].
If, after sending in your application, you don’t get an immediate response with your Unique Participant ID number, please check your spam folder. If our email to you is not there, please reach out to us at [email protected]. There may be some incompatibility between servers. Thank you.
Sponsors
The American Battle Monuments Foundation Past is Prologue Essay Contest is made possible, in part, through the generosity of our sponsors.
