Winners announced for museum's national writing competition award

Austin Doub, Morgan Karr and Faith Murrell were announced as the first, second and third place winners, respectively, of the Air Force Heritage and History Writing Competition, sponsored by the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force in Dayton, Ohio.

This was the sixth year for the competition, which was open to public, private school or homeschool students between the ages of 13-18. The research questions for this year’s competition focused on the difference in media coverage of the Southeast Asia (Vietnam) War in the 1960s and Operation Desert Storm in the 1990s. Students were asked to explain how did media coverage impacted Air Force operations of these wars as well as the possible implications for media in future military operations.

Scholarship award money is provided through the generosity of the Air Force Museum Foundation, Inc. and Dayton Rotary Foundation. (No federal endorsement implied.) A $1,500 scholarship was awarded to the first place winner, $1,000 to the second place winner and $500 to the third place winner. Students from four states submitted research papers, and Erin Craig, an aerospace educator at the museum, worked with museum volunteers and educators, Alice and Paul Pleva to determine the finalists.

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 19 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.