Courage is fundamental to building character, but how can you instill this value in your students? With limited time, scarce resources, and endless distractions, teachers nationwide face the same challenges. Luckily, there are lessons of courage available that can help. At the Congressional Medal of Honor Society (CMOHS), we offer teachers like you the PATH TO HONOR student portal. A FREE, easy-to-use, and engaging collection of lessons that instill the core values that define Medal of Honor recipients in students: courage, sacrifice, patriotism, citizenship, integrity, and commitment. Learn how these interactive modules will inspire your students.
PATH TO HONOR includes first-hand accounts from Medal of Honor recipients. They reflect on moments when they demonstrated unimaginable courage in the face of impossible odds, which teaches students what it means to fight for a greater cause, even when the deck seems stacked against them. Here is what makes PATH TO HONOR an invaluable trove of video lessons for middle and high school students.
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Sergeant John Basilone was sent to Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands during World War II to help maintain the strategic airfield there. His mission was to prevent the Japanese from recapturing it.
In October 1942, Basilone led two groups of heavy machine guns as the Marines came under attack. Suddenly, one of Basilone’s groups became disabled. Only two men of the group were left to defend the U.S. position. At this moment, Basilone had to make a choice.
Did he want to brave the barrage of unremitting enemy fire to keep the machine gun unit fighting?
Basilone valiantly decided to put his life on the line for a greater cause, demonstrating incredible bravery as he moved an extra gun into position, repaired a second gun, and operated it himself. He also carried ammunition back and forth to his men.
Basilone did all of this while the enemy continued to attack and was able to keep his unit going until reinforcements arrived. But this was just the beginning of the lessons of courage and heroism students can learn from Basilone.
At this stage, students will be prompted with a question asking them to imagine they are in his shoes, coming home a hero, and have to decide between enjoying their newfound fame or returning to the Pacific, where the war was still waging.
After this first self-exploration inciting activity, it will reveal how many other students answered the same thing and go on to tell the story of Basilone’s commitment to the war and the way he selflessly returned to the battlefield and risked everything to carry out a greater cause, giving his life to secure a U.S. victory.
At the end of the video, students will be prompted with a written self-exploration exercise in which they reflect on the courage he demonstrated, prompting a larger discussion and instilling the importance of this value in them.
This installment of the video lessons of courage on PATH TO HONOR revolve around Corporal Jason Dunham, who at 22 exhibited a strength of character that far exceeded his modest age.
In April 2004, Dunham was on a reconnaissance mission in Western Iraq when gunfire erupted nearby. His battalion commander’s convoy had been ambushed.
Fearless in the face of danger, Corporal Dunham ordered his rifle squad toward the fighting to defend the convoy. As his men attempted to stop Iraqi vehicles and search for weapons, the enemy threw a grenade toward his men.
At this point in the story, when everything is hanging on the line, the portal will prompt students to choose how they would respond in a situation where they were faced with imminent danger and a situation where they had to act immediately.
After seeing what other students answered, they will continue through this story about how Dunham covered the grenade with his helmet in an extraordinary display of valor, sacrificing his life by ensuring he would absorb the blast and not his men.
Students will then reflect on Corporal Dunham’s commitment to a greater cause, exploring what this means for them and sparking discussion. Through this activity, your students will be inspired to demonstrate the same courage Jason Dunham embodied.
Students will gain a deep appreciation for honor, courage, and commitment and an understanding that these are more than words. Because Jason Dunham understood that “they’re core values for a way of life that elevates service above self,” as President George W. Bush said in honor of him.
And by learning about his story and the stories in the other video lessons of courage through the PATH TO HONOR, students will learn to believe the same.
Helicopter Pilot Captain James Fleming is the next story of incredible bravery. In 1968, during the Vietnam War, James was on a dangerous mission in his aircraft – he was transporting a seven-man special forces team across the Cambodian border to gather intelligence on the enemy.
Suddenly, the team he had placed on the ground came under fire. They were chased to a riverbank and had to keep moving to avoid being hit. Rescue helicopters didn’t know where to find them and were also coming under fire. They began taking damage. The radio operator told them to get out.
They managed to escape, but they were in hostile territory and running dangerously low on fuel. As Captain Fleming flew away, he saw explosions from a claymore mine he knew U.S. troops detonated.
At this stage, students will be prompted with a self-exploration question about what they would do if they were in Captain Fleming’s position, low on fuel and deep in enemy territory with warnings to get out of the enemy-held positions, fully aware that attempts to save the mend had already cost lives.
After seeing what other students answered, students will continue through this inspiring story, learning how Captain Fleming decided to go through one more time because he knew where they were from the explosions, hearing from Captain Fleming himself.
Captain Fleming and his crew managed to pull in six men, with the seventh dangling from the helicopter, and returned them all to safety, demonstrating a commitment to ensuring the safety of many, no matter the potential risk.
Then, students will receive a written prompt where they reflect on Captain Fleming’s courage and a time they had to demonstrate a similar resolve in their lives, sparking an enlightening and transformative discussion among students.
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Courage is a cornerstone of character, so leveraging lessons of courage that actually catalyze this form of character development is crucial to creating the leaders their nation and communities deserve.
Through these stories of bravery revolving around real-life Medal of Honor recipients, students gain invaluable insights into the nature of courage and its role in overcoming adversity. By showing real-life examples of valor, you will:
These lessons of courage will also help students navigate social and emotional challenges and realize their full potential. By witnessing the actions of these heroes who embody the values our country has been built on, students will learn the meaning of courage and its potential to transform lives.
PATH TO HONOR is a FREE, self-guided, innovative student portal that will turn your students into leaders who propel our country forward. Accessible and engaging, students will understand the value of courage on this interactive platform through first-hand accounts from Medal of Honor recipients.
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Are you looking for lessons of courage that will catalyze crucial character development in your students? With PATH TO HONOR, you get access to a FREE, easy-to-use, and innovative student portal full of engaging, inspiring, and interactive lessons that instill the values that our country was built on and that define Medal of Honor recipients: courage, sacrifice, patriotism, citizenship, integrity, and commitment.
Visit our PATH TO HONOR page to learn more about this program to forge the heroes our country and communities deserve.