Find uplifting stories about heroes, innovations, and solutions
19 results for "world war i"
A violin carved from a chocolate box in the trenches of Gallipoli has inspired a Queensland teenager to travel to France and honor his great-great-great-uncle's wartime legacy. Isaiah Howell, 16, will deliver a eulogy at Ernest Pilcher's gravesite more than a century after the soldier's death.
Rutgers University transformed an abandoned World War II military road into a thriving forest, with 300 volunteers planting hundreds of trees using a unique Japanese method. The student-led festival turned climate action into a celebration that could inspire similar projects across campuses nationwide.
Between 1933 and 1941, ordinary people across Yugoslavia welcomed tens of thousands of refugees fleeing Nazi persecution, offering shelter, meals, and hope when most of Europe closed its borders. A new award-winning book finally tells their forgotten story of courage.
Sarah escaped the Holocaust as a child because her father recognized danger early and acted. Now her grandson carries that legacy of protection forward as an Israeli military officer.
Spanish archaeologists have documented 34 shipwrecks spanning 2,500 years in the Bay of Gibraltar, revealing a treasure trove of maritime history from Phoenician vessels to World War II planes. The discovery offers an unparalleled window into centuries of human exploration, trade, and cultural exchange.
A Hungarian Holocaust survivor and her late husband sustained each other through forced labor, ghettos, and hiding with secret love letters that are now preserved forever. At 101, Idit Papa donated the entire archive to Yad Vashem so future generations can witness love's power in the darkest times.
When cream vanished during World War II, American bakers invented buttermilk pie. This humble pantry creation became so delicious it outlasted the shortages that inspired it.
%2Fhttps%3A%2F%2Ftf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Ffiler_public%2Fc3%2Fe0%2Fc3e0ce1d-74de-4549-9587-0b12ab0a9d6a%2Fwine-cellar.jpg)
A groundskeeper investigating a small sinkhole on a Manchester golf course discovered a forgotten brick cellar filled with century-old wine bottles. The hidden space hasn't been touched since before World War I.
A World War II veteran who served in Germany at 18 and still bakes the sweet bread his grandmother taught him is turning 100 this weekend. His Decatur neighborhood is throwing him a drive-by party to honor a century of service and community spirit.
A hidden network of royal escape routes beneath Naples disappeared after World War II and sat forgotten until 2005. Now the Galleria Borbonica welcomes tourists into its time capsule tunnels.
A new film tells the extraordinary story of Haane Manahi, a Māori soldier whose 1943 heroism was called "the most gallant feat of arms" of WWII—yet he was controversially denied the Victoria Cross. The movie releases April 23, just before Anzac Day.
Three Jewish women concealed their pregnancies from Nazi guards, gave birth on death trains and in concentration camps, and miraculously kept their newborns alive in 1945. Eva Clarke, Hana Berger-Moran, and Mark Olsky are now 80 years old and share an unbreakable bond as some of the youngest Holocaust survivors.
When a concentration camp baby survived a bombing in 1943 Indonesia, a Japanese officer's nanny saved his life and raised him with pure devotion. Her love kept Walt Visser alive when no one else would touch the sick, starving child.
On this day in 1940, Glenn Miller's iconic jazz recording reached the top of the charts and became so culturally significant it was preserved by the Library of Congress. The song's universal appeal even led German radio to broadcast it during World War II.
At 101 years old, Bill Greason stands as the last living connection to baseball's Negro League era. The former pitcher's remarkable journey spans World War II, breaking color barriers, and 50 years serving his Birmingham community as a pastor.
Pete Metzelaar received a standing ovation from hundreds of students after sharing how courage and compassion saved his life during World War II. The 90-year-old has been telling his story since 1993, ensuring the next generation never forgets.
After two decades of economic growth, Poland is welcoming back waves of citizens who once left seeking better opportunities abroad. The country's GDP per capita has more than tripled since 2004, reversing Poland's historical emigration trend for the first time since World War II.
Three metal detector hobbyists in Maryborough, Australia, tracked down a World War II veteran's family to return his dog tags after seven decades. The lost military identification had been buried and forgotten until the detectorists discovered them and made it their mission to reunite them with their rightful home.
A rescue vehicle that saved over 100 lives during one of Mumbai's worst disasters has been lovingly brought back to life. The 88-year-old turntable ladder truck, which fought fires from a catastrophic wartime explosion, will parade again this Republic Day.