08/26/2026
The 2026 Connecting Generations Programs has come to a close, but the lessons carried home by our students and teachers are only beginning to take root.
Over the summer, eight extraordinary groups of young Americans—selected for their character, leadership, curiosity, and commitment to learning—traveled through England and France to experience history where it happened.
From Bomber Command and the Blitz in London to Eisenhower’s headquarters and the battlefields of Normandy, students and educators moved beyond the traditional classroom and entered one of the most powerful learning environments in the world.
They walked the landing grounds of Sword, Juno, Gold, Omaha, and Utah Beaches, explored the battlefields of the 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions, and studied the decisions, leadership, courage, and consequences that shaped the liberation of Europe.
They remembered the tremendous losses of Operation Cobra and reflected on the 53,402 Americans killed in battle during the First World War—connecting generations of service and sacrifice across American history.
What made these experiences truly extraordinary was the presence of living history.
Students and teachers stood beside World War II veterans whose firsthand experiences transformed names, dates, maps, and monuments into deeply human lessons. History was no longer something simply studied—it became something heard, witnessed, questioned, discussed, and ultimately understood on a far more personal level.
For educators, the program provides something equally valuable: a renewed ability to bring history back into their classrooms with greater context, authenticity, and purpose. Teachers return with stories, experiences, and perspectives that can enrich thousands of students long after the journey itself has ended. In this way, one battlefield experience can influence an entire school community.
The Greatest Generations Foundation provides these programs free of charge to participating youth and school groups, ensuring that access to this extraordinary educational experience is not determined by a student’s financial circumstances. This is made possible through the generosity of donors, partners, veterans, educators, and supporters who believe that preserving history requires investing in the generation that will carry it forward.
The greatest measure of this program is not simply what students learned overseas, but what they choose to do with that knowledge when they return home.
These young Americans now carry these experiences into their classrooms, families, schools, and communities. They return better prepared to understand the cost of freedom, the responsibility of citizenship, the importance of leadership, and the human consequences of decisions made in times of crisis.
We invite schools, educators, students, and supporters across America to become part of Connecting Generations. Together, we can transform the battlefields of history into classrooms without walls and ensure that the experiences of those who served continue to educate, challenge, and inspire generations yet to come.
Our students returned home carrying far more than photographs and memories. They returned carrying knowledge, perspective, gratitude, and a responsibility to tell the stories of those who came before them.
May they continue to learn.
May their teachers continue to inspire.
May their experiences strengthen their communities.
And may we never forget those whose service and sacrifice made their future possible.
“Every Day is Memorial Day”
The Greatest Generations Foundation
Web: www.TGGF.org
