UNION GROVE, Wis. (CBS 58) -- On a cold and blustery April morning, three eighth graders from Glen Hills Middle School stood among the graves at the Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Union Grove, paying tribute to two Korean War veterans they never had the chance to meet.
Cecil Sutphen and Orville Pitts, both area veterans, were honored as part of the Silent Heroes program, a National History Day initiative that selects one school in each state annually to uncover and share the life stories of unsung military service members.
“We got to honor two people that most people don’t know, and share their stories with the world,” said Glen Hills student Deandre Hatch.
Remembering the Unremembered
Though their names might not appear in history books, the lives of Sutphen and Pitts were far from ordinary.
Orville Pitts served as a Milwaukee alderman and once competed in the Olympic trials as a boxer. Cecil Sutphen was a trailblazer in his personal life—forced to cross state lines to marry his wife.
“When my dad met my mom, it was still a felony for a black person to marry a white person,” said David Sutphen, Cecil’s son.
The students spent nine months researching the lives of the two men, uncovering details that even family members had never known.
“I found out he had two half-sisters I didn’t know about,” Cecil's daughter Sussan Sutphen told CBS 58. “That was news to me.”
Students later participated in a “No Next of Kin” ceremony, during which they helped memorialize another service member, Roni Richotto, with full military honors. Richotto had no immediate family to attend the service, making the students’ tribute even more significant.
A History That Lives On
While Sutphen and Pitts are just two of many veterans whose stories risk being forgotten, the Silent Heroes program is helping ensure their sacrifices are remembered—not just by their families, but by a new generation of Americans.
“I do feel like I’ve gotten to know them a little bit,” said Henry Berenz, another student participant. “It feels nice to see their families.”
With efforts like this, their stories—and the lessons they carry—continue to resonate far beyond the classroom.
“There are so many people who never got the awareness they deserve,” said Vincent Balzerina, also an eighth grader. “They had major impacts, but sometimes not everybody knows about them.”
For more on Orville Pitts, CLICK HERE.
For more on Cecil Sutphen, CLICK HERE.