The Florida-France Soldier Stories project seeks to tell the stories of the Florida soldiers buried in the American Battle Monuments Commission cemeteries in France. The project’s goal is to honor and commemorate the brave individuals who gave their lives supporting the Allied forces, liberating France, and defeating Germany in the Second World War. Simultaneously, our goal is to teach the students who participate in this research project about the history of France and Florida during World War II, about the history of individual servicemen, and about how to implement historical research methods in their work.
The Florida-France Soldier Stories project has partnered with UCF’s RICHES™ (Regional Initiative for Collecting the History, Experiences and Stories) to digitize, collect, and map the primary sources relevant to the soldiers’ biographies, such as census records, draft registration cards, newspaper articles, and more.
This project benefits from the support of UCF’s Center for Humanities and Digital Research (CHDR), a collaborative research hub in the College of Arts and Humanities which fosters groundbreaking interdisciplinary digital research.
Principal Investigator
- Dr. Amelia Lyons
Digital Consultant
- Dr. Amy Giroux
Research Librarian Consultants
- Richard Harrison
- Rich Gause
Staff Support
- Kayla Campana
- Jessie Oldham
FFS Research Associates
- Elizabeth Klements
- Marie Oury
Student Involvement
- Mark Barnes – Graduate Assistant
- Michael Burke – Graduate Assistant
- James Stoddard – Graduate Assistant
- Cole Taylor – Graduate Assistant
- Brett Nystrom – Graduate Assistant
- Karen Kelly – Undergraduate Intern
- Samantha Dettman – Undergraduate Intern
- Dr. Lyons’ Undergraduate Students
Support and Assistance in France
- Priscille Ludwikowski
- Anne Trapet
Website