Syracuse students honor ‘silent heroes’ of Korean War with eulogies
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- Students from Syracuse Arts Academy read eulogies for Korean War veterans U.S. Air Force Airman 1st Class Barton J. “Bart” Gressmen and U.S. Army Pvt. James Edward Glasper at Utah Veterans Cemetery and Memorial Park on Tuesday, April 8, 2025.
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- Students from Syracuse Arts Academy read eulogies for Korean War veterans U.S. Air Force Airman 1st Class Barton J. “Bart” Gressmen and U.S. Army Pvt. James Edward Glasper at Utah Veterans Cemetery and Memorial Park on Tuesday, April 8, 2025.
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- Students from Syracuse Arts Academy read eulogies for Korean War veterans U.S. Air Force Airman 1st Class Barton J. “Bart” Gressmen and U.S. Army Pvt. James Edward Glasper at Utah Veterans Cemetery and Memorial Park on Tuesday, April 8, 2025.
SYRACUSE — During the Korean War, U.S. Army Pvt. James Edward Glasper trained to be a paratrooper and later assisted the war effort by helping to train future paratroopers at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina. Meanwhile, U.S. Air Force Airman 1st Class Barton J. “Bart” Gressmen maintained jeeps, trucks, armored cars, staff cars, tractors and various towing equipment while stationed in Germany with the 60th Motor Vehicle Squadron.
Both men eventually settled in Utah where, on Tuesday, they were honored at the Utah Veterans Cemetery & Memorial Park near Camp Williams with eulogies prepared by students from Syracuse Arts Academy.
The hourlong drive south to visit the graves of both men and read their eulogies was the culmination of a multi-month project undertaken by Heidi Stone’s ninth grade Honors English class through the nonprofit National History Day‘s “Silent Heroes” program, which gives teachers and students an opportunity to research the lives of U.S. service members and document their personal stories.
Following an application process, Stone’s class was selected to participate in a new Silent Heroes program, “Untold Stories from the Korean War,” sponsored by a grant from the Veterans Legacy Program at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
“I really like to look for projects that go outside school and apply to areas other than just normal academics,” Stone told the Standard-Examiner. “So, I look for projects that help my students be able to interact with the world itself instead of just, ‘Let’s write a paper and then turn it in.’ … The kids don’t really dig into that as much. There’s not as much of a personal application for them as there is with a project like this.”
According to Lynne O’Hara, National History Day’s deputy director of educational programs, applications were received from teachers nationwide, after which 50 teachers/classes were chosen. From there, National History Day assisted classes in their research efforts with the aim of painting the picture of two veterans’ lives.
“When we start this research process, we start with very limited information,” O’Hara told the Standard-Examiner. “We literally start with a spreadsheet of burials. So, we know the name of the person. We know the day they were born. We know the day that they died. And if they served in the window between about 1950 and 1955, it has Korea on their headstone.”
The experience was particularly meaningful for Stone and her students given their personal experience and Syracuse Arts Academy’s Purple Star School status, a distinction given to schools that endeavor to provide a smooth transition and support to military families through the state’s adoption of the Interstate Compact on Educational Opportunity for Military Children.
“Veterans who weren’t necessarily in combat are who my students chose because that’s who their parents are,” Stone said. “The whole point of the project was the silent hero, you know, people who are not necessarily always recognized. What they really felt was meaningful and impactful about this project is that these gentlemen really never got truly recognized for that, for their service.”
Through the process, which included communicating with family members, Stone’s students came to know Glasper and Gressmen through their deeds, extending well beyond their years of service.
They learned that Glasper was a teacher, conductor, singer and musician who performed statewide with the Utah Travelers Gospel group. In his retirement, he protected children as a crossing guard.
Gressmen, meanwhile, worked for the Salt Lake City Fire Department and, later, was a special needs bus driver for children at Hartvigsen School.
They also learned about the war.
“Besides the interviews, the other thing that the students did is they did a deep dive into the Korean War,” Stone said. “We were looking into the National Archives and really delving into primary and secondary sources to build a real story about where these people lived and what their lives might have been like. … Pulling out the census information, we were able to really build a story of what their lives might have been like. And it was a fun discussion because we talked a lot about history.”
While the Silent Heroes program gives students a new outlook on history and those who have served, it also serves to preserve that history for future generations.
“All the work gets posted on our site and then cross-posted on the Veterans Legacy Memorial,” O’Hara said. “And when those students and teachers go to the cemetery, they record the eulogies, and we have a videographer who makes them into professional videos that are posted and linked on both sites. So, that moment with the students and teachers being there is saved. It’s preserved for the family. It’s preserved for history. And then their work is shared publicly.”
The gravity of that work was not lost on Stone’s class.
“It was a really impactful project for them because they have friends and family members who have served,” Stone said. “It just kind of brings that veteran experience kind of full circle for them.”
