IN THE SERVICE OF THE NATION
The lives of American veterans teach us about more than wars.
In the Service of the Nation is the West Virginia National Cemeteries Project’s state-compliant set of classroom activities, grade 8-12, designed to teach state and American history through the experiences of the project’s veterans.
Click the links to download. See below for full description.
In the Service of the Nation will receive comprehensive updates in 2026, including new activities, updated biography pairings, and more!
Teachers and homeschool parents now have the opportunity to supplement their history lessons with a unique set of resources available from the West Virginia National Cemeteries Project. Keep reading for more information on how best to use these powerful tools.
If you’re looking for ways to breathe new life into 20th century American or state history, the Council has released In the Service of the Nation, a rich and navigable guide that provides several activities covering essential history skills.
Named for the certificate of service many veterans received after World War I, In the Service of the Nation offers six in-depth activities to bring a wide range of veteran experiences into West Virginia and U.S. history classrooms. Featuring a variety of lengths and difficulty levels, these adaptable activities draw from 38 short veteran biographies created by students of the West Virginia National Cemeteries Project, all of which are available online.
Each standalone activity emphasizes different aspects of studying history—so you can perform the activity as written, mix and match, or just use the resources to teach your own version!
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
Interested in doing your own veteran research?
OTHER MEDIA
With special funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Humanities Council partnered with West Virginia military veterans in 2015 to produce a six-part web series titled West Virginia Standing Together: The Humanities and the Experience of War.
Ageless Friends (WV Public Broadcasting). Stream this 2016 Council grant-funded documentary, which chronicles the story of a young Dutch man determined to uncover the story of the West Virginia World War II veteran whose grave he adopted in the Netherlands.