Museum of American Armor Offers College Students D-Day Essay Challenge

On the 79th anniversary of D-Day, Tuesday, June 6th, at 10:30 a.m., the founder and president of the Museum of American Armor, Lawrence Kadish, will announce a year-long contest that will challenge Long Island college students to submit an essay on the legacy of the historic World War II invasion, the winner being provided with a trip to Normandy, France, during 2024 that marks the 80th anniversary of history’s largest amphibious assault.

The announcement will take place at 1303 Round Swamp Road, Old Bethpage, during a ceremonies before the Armor Museum’s D-Day landing craft that will include the laying of wreath on its bow ramp.

Mr. Kadish will remind, “A survey by the American Council of Trustees and Alumni (ACTA) found that a quarter of Americans didn’t know that D-Day occurred during World War II and less than half knew that Franklin Delano Roosevelt was president during that time. With such basic historic facts unknown to many college students, there is little surprise that few appreciate how our geo-political world is defined by the courage, valor, and sacrifice of Americans who answered the call of freedom over seventy-five years ago.”

The Armor Museum’s contest is a partial response to a recent campaign by Long Island social studies teachers to prevent what they see as an erosion of the amount of class time assigned to history under evolving state educational guidelines. “Without being anchored to our history, we are a nation adrift,” continued Mr. Kadish.

In 2010 the New York Regents deliminate social studies tests in fifth and eighth grades, suggesting the state lacked funds for assessments.

Gloria Sesso, co-president of the Long Island Council for the Social Studies and an advisor to the Armor Museum says those tests were never restored.

Sesso is among those educators who sent a letter of protest to Betty A. Rosa, the state's Education Commissioner, warning that the state's planned changes for social studies curriculum could pose a "danger to democracy" by lessening the amount of class time schools spend on the subject.

“This essay contest will potentially incentivize a generation of college students to study this era, making up for considerable educational deficit they experienced due to the loss of state mandates,” explained Sesso.

Essay essentials

Essays will be accepted by the Museum of American Armor for the next ten months. They may be mailed, emailed, or delivered by hand. The essays will be judged by members of the Armor Museum board and recognized educators. The winner must be over 18 years of age and will be responsible for having a valid passport. The Armor Museum will provide air and ground transportation and appropriate accommodations on the Cotentin Peninsula, France, that is near the historic Normandy beaches. The decision of the judges will be final and all essays will become the property of the museum for the purpose of creating a permanent online archive of the submissions.

Open year round, the Museum of American Armor is in its ninth year of annually welcoming thousands of visitors who inspect its collection of nearly fifty operational military vehicles acquired for the purpose of honoring our veterans and telling their story.