DAYTON, Ohio -- Teenagers will have a unique opportunity to earn scholarship funds while learning about military aviation history through the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force's fifth annual Air Force Heritage and History Writing Competition.

The competition is open to public, private school or homeschooled students between the ages of 13-18, giving them a chance to showcase their writing talents while vying for scholarship funds. Entries must be submitted via U.S. mail or email by March 13, 2015. The competition will accept only the first 250 entrants. The requirements for this writing competition meet Common Core curriculum English Language Arts writing standards for grades 6-12.

The research questions for this year's competition are as follows: On Aug. 6, 1945, The "Little Boy" atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, Japan, from the B-29 Enola Gay. Three days later, the B-29 Superfortress Bockscar dropped the atomic weapon "Fat Man" on Nagasaki. August 2015 is the 70th anniversary of these events. Provide a brief history of the events and rationale leading to these bombings and speculate as to how history would be different had the U.S. not taken these steps.

A complete list of competition guidelines is available on the museum's website at www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/shared/media/document/AFD-101115-043.pdf.

Scholarship award money is provided by the Air Force Museum Foundation, Inc. A $1,500 scholarship will be awarded to the first place winner, $1,000 to the second place winner and $500 to the third place winner.

Local educators will determine the finalists, and those submissions will be sent on to national-level judges to decide on the three winners.

The National Museum of the U.S. Air Force, located at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton, Ohio, is the world's largest military aviation museum. With free admission and parking, the museum features more than 360 aerospace vehicles and missiles and thousands of artifacts amid more than 17 acres of indoor exhibit space. Each year about one million visitors from around the world come to the museum. For more information, visit www.nationalmuseum.af.mil.


NOTE TO PUBLIC: For more information, please contact the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force Education Division at (937) 255-4652.

NOTE TO MEDIA: For more information, please contact Sarah Swan at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force Public Affairs Division at (937) 255-1283.