Soldiers at Colleville-sur-Mer
Since the Institute's inception, the cornerstone project of the program is the soldier research project. Each team picks a soldier from as close to their hometown as possible who is buried in the Normandy American Cemetery at Colleville-sur-Mer. The team will research the life of this soldier from birth to death and will present their findings to their peers in the program and provide a copy to the Cemetery for preservation in its archives.
Soldiers Previously Researched
These are the soldiers researched by teams in the 3 most recent Institute classes: 2024, 2023, 2022. The full, internal archive since the inception of the Albert H. Small Normandy Institute includes over 200 soldiers.
| Soldier Name | State | Unit | Student |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pvt. Otis William Dill | Missouri | 149th Engineer Combat Battalion | Michael Wise |
| Cpt. Thomas A. Chastant | Louisiana | 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division | Joshua Adams |
| PFC Raymond C. Dunn | Massachusetts | 329th Infantry Regiment, 83rd Infantry Division | Chelian Subbiah |
| TSgt. James A. Knight | North Carolina | 120th Infantry Regiment, 30th Infantry Division | Eireann Marcus |
| Pvt. Lawrence P. Woodside | North Dakota | 17th Engineer Battalion, 2nd Armored Division | MaKenna Vigness |
| Cpt. David L. Wilhite | Kentucky | 566th Bomber Squadron, 389th Bomber Group, Heavy | McKayla Thomas |
| T5 William G. Weber | Wisconsin | 101st Signal Company, 101st Airborne Division | Kate Olson |
| SSgt. Harold J. Brogan | Oregon | 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division | Clementine Rust |
| Pvt. Joseph Preiser | New York | 359th Infantry Regiment, 90th Infantry Division | Isaac Lorin |
| Lt. Col. William E. Warfield | Maryland | 115th Infantry Regiment, 29th Infantry Division | Kyrill Foustoukos |
| TM2 Auvergne S. Breault | Michigan | U.S. Navy | Ian Smith |
| TSgt. Adolfo A. Lopez Jr. | Florida | 555th Bomber Squadron, 386th Bomber Group, Medium | Melissa Gonzalez |
| PFC Harry H. Burgess | New Mexico | 38th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division | Valentina Chavez |
| 2nd Lt. Joseph R. Fierro | New Jersey | 262nd Infantry Regiment, 66th Infantry Division | Julia Sauers |
| Pvt. Edward J. Pillis | Connecticut | 507th Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division | Finn Outwater |
| Pvt. Rochester Boyd | Florida | 6th Armored Division, 3398th Quartermaster Truck Company | Nicholas Bachfisher |
| SSgt. Maurice Williams | Virginia | 29th Infantry Division, 116th Infantry Regiment, A Company | Statler Brunsman |
| PFC Annis Irving Altman | Texas | 83rd Infantry Division, 331st Infantry Regiment | Adam Buchsbaum |
| T5 John C. Berlin | Louisiana | 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division | Matthew Gorbaty Jr. |
| Sgt. Kenneth Gunning | Maryland | 507th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division | Victor Jacobsen |
| PFC Nicholas Francis Mydra | Minnesota | 4th Medical Battalion, 4th Infantry Division | Matthew Jegers |
| 2nd Lt. Edward B. Gunn | Mississippi | 26th Infantry Regiment, 1st Infantry Division | William Giles Jones |
| Cpl. Joseph N. Headd | New Jersey | 3912 Quartermaster Truck Company | Zara Lall |
| 2nd Lt. Wallace W. Mummey | Montana | 339th Bomber Squadron, 96th Bomber Group, Heavy | Lindsey Leinwand |
| 1st Lt. Robert Foss Shipley | Missouri | 49th Troop Carrier Squadron, 313th Troop Carrier Group, 9th Air Force | Akhil Nadithe |
| PFC John Marion Love | South Carolina | 4th Infantry Division, 8th Infantry Regiment | Riley Price |
| PFC John R. Ruland | Colorado | 197th Anti-Aircraft Artillery Battalion | Violet Pyles |
| 2nd Lt. Carleton E. Thompson | Michigan | 485th Fighter Squadron, 370th Fighter Group, 9th Air Force | Erika Rice |
| PFC Bryce Leaver Fountain | California | 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division | Alex Uhrlaub |
| Cpt. Ralph B. Hartgraves | Texas | 329th Infantry Regiment, 83rd Infantry Division | Jackson Capra |
| Petty Officer Wilbert E. Henke | Minnesota | United States Naval Reserve, Motor Machinist Mate Second Class | Heidi Danielson |
| Sgt. John P. Ray | Louisiana | 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division | Ian Doody |
| Pvt. Hugo P. Bibry | Texas | 502nd Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division | Gerardo Elizondo |
| 1st Sgt. James O'Neal | Tennessee | 117th Infantry Regiment, 30th Infantry Division | Jessie Henderson |
| 1st Lt. John Joseph Henderson | Pennsylvania | 12th Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Division | Xander Hill |
| SSgt. Homer L. Anderson | Texas | 146th Engineer Combat Battalion, Company B | Chloee Hoover |
| Sgt. Thomas Eugene Bratten | Kentucky | 116th Infantry Regiment, 29th Infantry Division | Evelyn Johnson |
| PFC John D. Halls | Colorado | 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division | Natalie Lopez-Ramirez |
| PFC Harry M. Thoraldson | Pennsylvania | 2nd Engineer Combat Battalion, 2nd Infantry Division | Audrey McCollum |
| Sgt. Roger Lewis Eppley | Pennsylvania | 16th Infantry Regiment, 1st Infantry Division | Joseph Messina |
| Cpt. Jefferson D. Dickson | Michigan | Headquarters, 4th Bomb Wing | Geethika Polepalli |
| 1st Lt. Homer C. Biggs | Colorado | 323rd Bomb Squadron, 91st Bomb Group, Heavy | Tahila Trevino |