TROY, Mich. (WXYZ) — In honor of America's 250th anniversary, a group of more than 20 high school students from Troy traveled to Europe in June to learn about World War II firsthand — and to honor fallen soldiers from their own community buried abroad.
Before the trip, students at Troy Athens High School were tasked with finding Troy residents who served in World War II and never made it home. With help from the Troy Historic Village, they identified four of them.
Watch Jolie Sherman's video report below:
Social studies teacher Susan Symes organized the 14-day trip across five countries.
"We thought that it would be really important to connect what they're learning this global war to our community here in Troy," Symes said.
The group visited major World War II landmarks throughout Europe.
"We saw major cities, we saw major landmarks related to World War II. We were in Churchill War bunker. We were on Omaha Beach in Normandy. We were in Paris," Symes said.
She says because the U.S. government only lists World War II fatalities by state, finding Troy-specific soldiers required additional research. The Troy Historic Village had the resources students needed.
"We happen to have this fantastic book called 'When Our Country Called' that was put together by staff and volunteers years ago... again, they went through and researched as many people as they could who served," said Jen Peters, executive director of the Troy Historic Village.
Using the book, students identified four World War II soldiers from Troy who fought, died and were buried in Europe. The group visited the Wall of the Missing at Normandy American Cemetery in France and Henri-Chapelle American Cemetery in Belgium.
For Ethan Feys, an incoming senior at Troy Athens, the experience was deeply meaningful.
"I've been doing research on this person and just to be there, to remember them, to know their name, it's just so important and that their sacrifice didn't go unnoticed," Feys said.
His classmate Connor Calven said the trip brought history into sharp focus.
"It's crazy to imagine that those four people in Troy, they were like you and me. They had lives, they had families, they had friends and they went away to war just to never come back," Calven said.
Symes, who has led many international trips, said this one stood out.
"With the 250th anniversary, we're thinking about the history of our country, and I think World War II is a very big part of that. So, I think that these students had such an amazing opportunity to learn so much more in depth, and I'm very grateful for them and for their parents to support this trip, so that we could make it happen," Symes said.
—————
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
