Honoring the 80th VE Day, Memorial Day 2025: Florida France Soldier Stories

This May marks the 80th anniversary of Victory in Europe (VE) Day — the end of World War II in Europe — and serves as a powerful reminder of the courage and sacrifice of the men and women who fought to liberate Europe. Each Memorial Day we commemorate veterans who served and are no longer with us.

To honor their legacy and ensure their stories aren’t forgotten, the Florida France Soldier Stories (FFSS) project, through UCF’s Department of History, recognizes the Floridians who fought and died in Europe during World War II and are now buried in the American Battle Monuments Commission cemeteries in France.

The project, which intends to memorialize Gold Star Floridians from World War II, also teaches history students how to conduct research and construct a historical narrative. This year 10 new biographies are being published through the project in honor of VE Day on May 8 and Memorial Day on May 26.

“The young men whom our UCF students learn about died [around] the age [they] are when they research these stories. [Students] learn valuable research and writing skills, as well as about an individual who paid the ultimate price during World War II,” says Amelia Lyons, leader of the FFSS project and an associate professor in the UCF history department.

“[FFSS] is bringing back all these men who died in service,” says history graduate student Marie Oury. “Today they teach students how to be better historians. Without their willingness to serve again, we couldn’t do the project. It’s a bridge between Florida and France, where local histories in two places become one.”

FFSS graduate students verify all sources, edit biographies written by undergraduates and manage the FFSS website. In the process, they develop a range of professional skills they can carry into their careers after graduation.

Rows of white crosses stand in formation at the Normandy American Cemetery in Colleville-sur-Mer, France, beneath a bright blue sky. Pink roses bloom in the foreground. — The Normandy American Cemetery in France is a World War II cemetery and memorial that honors American service members who died in Europe, including Steward’s Mate Second Class Charles Stripling, who lost his life during the Allied invasion in June 1944.

Michael Richardson ’22, a U.S. Navy veteran and history graduate student, recently edited the biography of Steward’s Mate Second Class Charles Stripling. Stripling is the FFSS’s first biography from the Normandy American Cemetery and one of the African American sailors to pay the ultimate price during the Allied invasion in June 1944.

“Charles is FFSS’s first U.S. Navy biography, and to tell my brother’s story means a lot,” Richardson says. “[He] served at the front of the ship, right where the sea mine hit his Landing Ship Tank on June 11, 1944. The fact that he was reported missing and never recovered really hits home. It lets students share the veteran’s perspective.”

This summer, Oury and Lyons will travel to Alsace in eastern France to meet with U.S. Consulate representatives, officials from France’s Ministry of Culture, and regional officials and WWII museums that have expressed interest in featuring UCF student-authored stories of American soldiers in their exhibits.

“Marie and I are excited to meet with so many people in Alsace who care about the Floridians who liberated their hometowns. In addition to local interest, WWII museums along the Rhine River get many American tourists who want to know more about the American experience in WWII,” Lyons says. “Our project provides these personal narratives through our rigorously researched biographies. This summer Marie and I will be working where this project started in 2015, with the first biographies our students wrote about Floridians buried in the Epinal American Cemetery.”

This project is deeply personal for Richardson, past president of UCF’s Student Veterans of America chapter.

“It gives me a mission in peacetime. It allows me to serve my community by ensuring that these stories are told professionally and with respect for the men whose stories we tell,” Richardson says. “A lot of our students have not even been in the same room as a veteran, and this project helps history and veterans’ experiences come to life.”

As we pay tribute to our nation’s fallen on Memorial Day, we invite you to read some of the newly published biographies by the Florida France Soldier Stories project. Many of these men never had the chance to start families, and those who did often didn’t live to see them grow up. Memorial Day is a time to reflect and honor those who are no longer with us, but whose sacrifice allows us to celebrate this holiday weekend.