In a world where it can feel like self-interest reigns supreme, the concept of sacrifice can feel outdated and scarcely found. But sacrifice fuels progress and propels our country forward. As such, it is essential for history teachers to teach the importance of sacrifice to students. But with unending distractions, how can you instill this trait in students? History is filled with inspiring stories of unbelievable sacrifices for the greater good. These acts of bravery and selflessness are often honored with the Medal of Honor. At the Congressional Medal of Honor Society (CMOHS), we offer middle and high school teachers like you the PATH TO HONOR student portal. 

FREE, easy-to-use, and engaging, these video history lessons will inspire students to embody the core values that define the Medal of Honor: courage, sacrifice, patriotism, citizenship, integrity, and commitment. Discover how your students can learn how sacrifice can change lives and shape the world through first-hand accounts from recipients themselves. 

Why Should You Teach the Importance of Sacrifice to Students?

Sacrifice is a cornerstone of character development. It instills values like selflessness, perseverance, empathy, and commitment, which are essential to becoming the leaders our nation needs. Instilling the importance of sacrifice in your students is vital because it:

• Fosters empathy: Students gain an understanding of the concept of individual sacrifice and giving up something for the greater good to cultivate compassion.
• Builds character: Students develop resilience, determination, and a strong moral compass in the face of impossible circumstances and an appreciation for what they have.
• Prepares them for challenges: Students realize that life is full of sacrifices and choices, and by equipping them with this concept early, they will be ready to face future challenges with grace, maturity, and a commitment to the greater good. 
• Inspires leadership: History is replete with examples of leaders who made significant sacrifices for the betterment of society, and these stories inspire this same sense of selflessness and valor to become the leaders our nation and their communities need. 

Character development is crucial to quality education, and the PATH TO HONOR student portal is an excellent resource to teach the importance of sacrifice. With this FREE, self-guided, and engaging student portal, your students will witness the actions of the real-life heroes who received the Medal of Honor and embodied the values that define our nation, like sacrifice. 

Through captivating first-hand accounts from Medal of Honor recipients themselves, students will witness acts of heroism that teach them the meaning of sacrifice and its potential to transform and save lives. Learn how it will supply you with unequaled inspiration!

Related Article: Why Is History Important for Students? The Foundation for Future Leaders

PATH TO HONOR: 3 FREE Lessons about the Importance of Sacrifice for Middle & High School Students

PATH TO HONOR provides free, self-guided, and engaging video assignments that instill the importance of sacrifice in middle and high school students. Through first-hand accounts from Medal of Honor recipients reflecting on moments in which they sacrificed for a greater purpose, students learn what it means to sacrifice in pursuit of something greater, no matter the cost. 

Here is what makes PATH TO HONOR a crucial trove of video lessons and an experience that will catalyze character development in middle and high school students. 

Staff Sergeant Henry Eugene “Red” Erwin, World War II Veteran

This module revolves around Staff Sergeant Henry Erwin, who served as a radio operator on a B-29 during World War II and is a shining example of how understanding the importance of sacrifice can help accomplish something greater and save lives. 

In April of 1945, his plane led a bomb raid over Japan. To signal the group of planes behind him to get into formation, Erwin dropped a white phosphorus smoke bomb down a narrow chute out of the plane, but it exploded prematurely and bounced back inside the aircraft. 

Hitting Erwin in the face, the bomb set him ablaze. He was blinded instantly, but sections of his skin burned down to the bones. The bomb filled the plane with smoke, and it plummeted toward the ocean uncontrollably. 

At this stage of the lessons, students will receive a prompt that makes them reflect on Sergeant Henry Erwin’s predicament. Severely burned, as he and his crew faced imminent danger from this smoke bomb that obstructed all vision, how would they respond? 

Would they find a secure place and instruct their crew to do the same? Would they tell another member of their crew to dispose of the bomb? Or would they dispose of it themselves as soon as possible? After answering this question and considering how they would react, students see what the majority of other students answered and find out how Erwin responded. 

At this stage of the module, students hear about a feat of bravery and selflessness from Sergeant Henry Erwin himself as he describes the peril he and his crew faced. Realizing no one could or would respond, Erwin took it upon himself to remove the bomb from the aircraft. 

Ignoring excruciating pain and third-degree burns all over his body and sacrificing his life, he grabbed the 1,300-degree bomb with his bare hands and started crawling to the cockpit and asking his co-pilot to open the window, which he threw the bomb out of. 

The smoke cleared immediately, and the plane avoided a deadly crash. Following this incredible act of sacrifice, he received the Medal of Honor in a record-setting week. Against all odds, Erwin survived, and his legacy serves as a beacon of inspiration and the importance of sacrifice.

After finishing this captivating video, students will then be prompted with a written self-exploration exercise. They will reflect on Erwin’s decision to do something that caused great bodily harm, sparking a larger discussion about why this trait is important.

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Lieutenant Thomas Hudner, Korean War Veteran

This video history lesson revolves around Lieutenant Thomas Hudner, a Korean War Veteran who provides vital insights into the importance of sacrifice. 

In December of 1950, near the mountainous Chosin Reservoir area of North Korea, Lieutenant Thomas Hudner and Ensign Jesse Brown were flying a reconnaissance mission to scout enemy positions when anti-aircraft fire hit Brown’s plane. 

Then, Lieutenant Thomas Hudner himself provides a first-hand account of the dilemma. Reflecting on the event, Hudner explains that Ensign Jesse Brown announced that he was losing power and thought he would have to crash-land his airplane. 

Surrounded by a treacherous mountain range, Jesse crash-landed. Brown was trapped alive in the smoking wreckage, and Hudner could not reach him to help without risking his own plane and, ultimately, his life. At this point, students receive a prompt that makes them contemplate how they would respond in this time of need despite the danger and what’s at stake.  

Would they radio for help and join them in a rescue mission for a fallen comrade? Would they engage enemy forces and return to the aircraft carrier to get help? Or would they swoop in immediately, crash-landing their own plane with no immediate way out of enemy territory to save their comrade from their burning plane? 

After answering, students will see what other students answered and continue on this unbelievable story of sacrifice, as Hudner continues in his first-hand account, explaining that even though a helicopter was coming, he knew he had to act fast. 

Despite the danger it posed, he made a split decision to make a wheels up crash landing close enough to Jesse’s airplane that he could pull him out of the cockpit and wait for the helicopter to come and rescue them. He learned Jesse was stuck, and the ax from the helicopter was of no use. 

As night approached and temperatures took a nosedive, the helicopter pilot, Charlie Ward,  had to leave. Hudner had to choose between leaving or staying behind with his dying, unconscious friend in subzero temperatures. 

Hudner thinks back on the choice in the video, saying, “It would have been suicide to have stayed, and we didn’t know if Jesse was still alive. I had to go back with Charlie.”

While Jesse did not make it out of the wreckage, Hudner was eventually awarded the Medal of Honor the following year for his valiant attempt to save him and put his own life on the line, embodying the importance of sacrifice for a friend, comrade, and greater cause. 

At the end of the video, students will receive a free-writing prompt that encourages self-exploration and character development and sparks an enlightening discussion about why this sense of sacrifice is crucial in their daily lives. In this exercise, they will reflect on Hudner’s attempt to save Jesse Brown despite there being no guarantee that he would survive it.

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Sergeant Alwyn Cashe, War on Terrorism (Iraq) Veteran

Sergeant Alwin Cashe, a veteran of the War on Terrorism in Iraq, is at the center of this self-guided video lesson about history that demonstrates the importance of sacrifice. 

In 2005, Sergeant First-Class Alwyn Cashe was serving as a platoon sergeant in Iraq when he was dispatched on a dangerous mission. As his convoy ventured through the darkness, a roadside bomb detonated. 

At this point in the lesson, Retired 1st Sergeant Peter Black, who was a part of the platoon, provides a first-hand account of what followed the explosion, describing the direness of the situation as he explains, “We had been hit before; I’d just never seen anything like this.”

Flames engulfed the vehicle, and Cashe escaped, but as he fought to rescue the others trapped inside, his clothes caught on fire, too. The module will then prompt students to consider the high stakes of the situation and what they would do in Cashe’s position. 

With uniforms ablaze and skin burning, would they stop, drop, and roll before helping their comrades? Would they ignore the intense pain and work as fast as possible to help them? Or would they strip off their uniform to put out the flames before attempting to rescue them?

After seeing what other students answered when prompted by the module, they will learn the rest of the story and marvel at Sergeant Alwin Cashe’s incredible bravery and integrity despite the circumstances, truly instilling the importance of sacrifice in them. 

Cashe never stopped helping his men, running around to offer assistance even after help arrived. Despite having no clothes on and burns over 72% of his body, he never stopped trying to help his soldiers, refusing to get on the aircraft until every one of them was evacuated. 

Though he would die a month later from the injuries he sustained, his memory and incredible display of sacrifice for something greater than himself will never be forgotten, and this legacy will be a beacon of inspiration for your students.

President Joe Biden presented the Medal of Honor award to his widow, making him the first African American to receive the award since the Vietnam War. 

“Sergeant Cashe was a soldier’s soldier, a warrior who literally walked through fire for his troops,” President Joe Biden said as he honored this selflessness, “When he regained the ability to speak, the first thing he asked was, How are my boys? That was his code. His love for his third infantry division ran deep. No soldier was going to be left behind on his watch.” 

At the end of the video, students will be prompted with a freer self-exploration exercise in which they reflect on the value of sacrifice and when doing the right thing means ignoring what they have been taught or even breaking the rules. This prompt will also spark a rich discussion.

Related Article: Lessons of Courage for Middle and High School

Assign FREE, Engaging Video Lessons about the Importance of Sacrifice and Other Traits. Register for PATH TO HONOR Today!  

Teaching students the importance of sacrifice is crucial to providing a quality education, forging the heroes our country and communities deserve, and helping students realize their full potential. If you are looking for a way to instill this value in your students that will engage, captivate, and resonate with them, PATH TO HONOR could be a great solution. This FREE, easy-to-use, and innovative student portal is full of inspiring and interactive lessons that instill the values that built our country and define Medal of Honor Recipients.

Visit our PATH TO HONOR page to learn more about this program to forge the heroes our country and communities deserve.