ABMF 2025 Past is Prologue Essay Contest

During World War II, millions of Americans and other freedom-loving people around the world fought to stop evil.

Learn how and why – and compete for prize money up to $10,000 with your winning essay!

Deadline for essay submissions: April 27, 2025.

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!

College students are not eligible to participate.

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 plagiarism, and essays found to have been written with AI or containing plagiarized content 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
  • World War II in the Pacific
  • At the beginning of the 20th century, Japan was the undisputed power of Asia, claiming that status through vicious invasion and occupation of Manchuria, China, Burma, Taiwan, Korea, and the East Indies. In response, the United States imposed trade tariffs, especially on oil, 80 percent of which Japan imported from the West.

    Negotiations between Japan and the U.S. will be remembered as nothing more than a stalling tactic while the Imperial Japanese Navy planned and trained for a surprise attack to decimate America’s Pacific fleet.

    President Franklin D. Roosevelt said that December 7, 1941 would be a “date that would live in infamy,” and declared that a state of war existed between the U.S. and Japan. The next day, Germany and the Axis Powers declared war on the U.S., officially bringing the country into the war in Europe; America would now fight on two fronts.

    This year, ABMF invites students to learn why and how America entered World War II through the perspective of some who were attacked at Pearl Harbor, or to understand why the Battle of Midway
    became an early turning-point in the war.

    The Manila American Cemetery is the largest of ABMC’s hallowed sites with 16,978 American service members buried there; another 36,286 are memorialized as their bodies were never recovered
    from the ships or warplanes that were destroyed during the brutal three and half years of the war in the Pacific. At Clark Veterans Cemetery in Manila, 8,877 American service members who died in WWII are buried, and at the Honolulu Memorial, 18,095 names of the missing are inscribed.

2025 Past is Prologue Essay Contest Topics:

Topic 1:

A Day in the Life on December 7, 1941,
Pearl Harbor, HI

Write about the day in the life on December 7, 1941 of one of these four people, either by name or rank. 

  • Captain of a battleship: USS California, Oklahoma, Arizona or West Virginia. The captain is responsible for preparing and leading the officers and crew in combat as well as the day-to-day affairs of the ship, including strategy and discipline. A battleship is a small city of about 1,300 to 2,200 people.
  • Ship’s Cook: Cook Petty Officer Third Class, Doris “Dori” Miller, was the first African American to receive the Navy Cross for distinguished heroism when he shot down enemy planes from the USS West Virginia during the attack on Pearl Harbor. Rank: PO2.
  • U.S. Army Air Corps pilot: Regardless of the surprise attack and the chaos that ensued, 14 Army Air Corps pilots tried to get their warplanes off the ground. Only five aviators got airborne, and their courage and skill shot down 10 of the 29 enemy planes shot down that day.
  • U.S. Army radar station operator and/or supervising duty officer on Oahu: These men were the first to see the enemy approaching, and their actions were hugely consequential. In 1941, the new technology of radar was unproven, but it would become integral to modern life.

What was his job? How did his work fit into the overall military operations at Pearl Harbor? How did he respond to the events of the day? How did technology, logistics or military protocols factor into his response? What lessons may we learn from the events at Pearl Harbor? How are they relevant to you today?

Topic 2:

The WWII Battle of Midway,
June 4-7, 1942

Midway Atoll is a tiny ring of coral reefs located about 1,300 miles northwest of Hawaii. Today, it is the world’s largest protected marine reserve and home to 7,000 species of birds and marine life. During WWII, it was an important refueling and provisioning oasis for American service members, “midway” between the U.S. and its UK allies, Australia and New Zealand.

It was also the site of one of the most consequential battles between the U.S. and Japan. The Imperial Japanese Navy spent more than a year preparing for a strategy it believed would bait the Americans to fight and lose there, giving Japan unquestioned superiority in the Pacific. Japan’s “Zero” warplanes were faster and more maneuverable, its pilots were more experienced, and it positioned a fleet of at least 97 watercraft and 248 aircraft on the attack, compared to America’s 51 watercraft and 360 aircraft.

On the first day of the battle, it seemed Japan had won. But in the few days that followed, America prevailed. Ultimately, the Battle of Midway would claim 362 American sailors, airmen and Marines; Japan would lose 3,057.

What was the ingenious plan used by U.S. cryptographers to decode Japan’s strategy and determine when and where an attack would occur?
Why did the Japanese choose Midway as a battle strategy?
Why was the Battle of Midway a turning point in the Pacific theater and what difference does it make to us today?

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.

Essays must:

  • Include your Unique ID # assigned after you apply, not your name
  • Upload as a PDF
    – Double Spaced, 1 inch margins
    – Font, Size: Times New Roman, 12 pt.

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 is prohibited. Essays written with the help of AI bots will be disqualified.

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.

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.

Judging Guidelines
  • 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.

Apply Now

2. Using your unique Participant ID number, upload your essay no later than April 27, 2025, 10 pm Mountain Time.

You’ll receive a confirmation that your essay has been received.

Upload your essay

Winners will be announced on Gold Star Mothers and Family’s Day, September 28, 2025.

Please read the Essay Contest Details and FAQs 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.
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