Penn State Berks students honor veterans through 'Celebrating Our Heroes' website

WYOMISSING, Pa. — Just in time for the country’s 250th anniversary, Penn State Berks students recently honored veterans by sharing their stories of service and sacrifice as part of a technical writing course at the college. Stories ranged from an officer who had a battleship named after him, to a young man born during the Great Depression who enlisted to support his family, to a young woman who became an intensive care unit nurse in the Vietnam War, for which she received a bronze star.

According to Tara Beecham, associate teaching professor of English at Penn State Berks, students in four sections of the college’s technical writing course were "called to service" in the fall of 2025. Their task: Research and celebrate the lives of veterans in their family (or alternately celebrate the life of a Pennsylvania veteran), applying the research techniques and web design skills they learned in class.

During the spring 2026 semester, students in three additional course sections of technical writing students joined the project. The posts, which honor veterans’ service and sacrifice, can be found at  Celebrating Our Heroes, a website accessible to anyone with a Penn State email address.

Thomas Olin Oberrender Jr.

One such entry, written by Ava and Luke Oberrender, tells the story of their ancestor, Thomas Olin Oberrender Jr., who was born on Sept. 24, 1906, and attended the Naval Academy, where he studied engineering. He was commissioned as a Naval officer, served on several ships and became the executive officer of the destroyer USS Hull in 1938. Later he become an engineering officer on the USS Juneau, a craft deployed to the Pacific during the World War II that participated in the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal. Oberrender was wounded trying to aid his men after the Juneau was struck by a torpedo, and he was awarded the Purple Heart. On Nov. 13, 1942, a Japanese submarine launched two torpedoes, one of which struck the Juneau and it was destroyed. Oberrender lost his life at age 36. He received several honors posthumously, and the USS Oberrender is his namesake.

Walter Floyd Shugar

Emily Shugar wrote about her ancestor, Walter Floyd Shugar.  Born on July 5, 1919, in Reading, Pennsylvania, he grew up during the Great Depression. He got married at age 19 and started a family right away, so he enlisted as a private in the Pennsylvania National Guard to support them. He was then drafted into the Army during World War II, where he served in a supply chain role, which involved coordination, problem solving, and communication across units. After retiring from the military after more than 30 years of service, Shugar returned to Reading and transitioned back into civilian life, working as a security officer at Baldwin Hardware for several decades.

Virginia Dornheggen

An entry written by Sadiya Ali tells the story of Virginia Dornheggen. Born on Nov. 8, 1948, in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, she became the first woman in her family to serve in the military. While in nursing school, she discovered the Army Student Nurse Program, which she joined after graduation. On Jan. 6, 1970, she was sworn in as a second lieutenant. Dornheggen worked as an ICU nurse at Walter Reed in Maryland for about nine months before getting orders to go to Vietnam on Nov. 20, 1970. According to Ali, the traumatic events Dornheggen experienced, including an ammunition dump explosion, left her struggling with night terrors and PTSD when she returned to civilian life. Today, she uses her experiences to educate others about the realities of war and the lasting impact it can have on mental health.

A deeper appreciation

Brett Spencer, reference and instructional librarian, supported students' research process including creating an online research toolkit for the project, and Glenn Kuntz, former instructional designer at Penn State Berks, now learning solutions designer at Penn State Lehigh Valley, provided support for both project and site development.

Students were asked to complete an anonymous survey at the end of the course.

One student commented, "I enjoyed being able to honor our veterans and one that is close to me. It was fun to learn more about my stepdad’s experience in the service because of how proud and honored he is to be a United States Marine."

Another student stated, "I really enjoyed working on this project. It allowed me to learn more about my veteran and his life while he served. The research toolkit helped me find some information about him, but much of what I learned came from conversations with my family. Overall, this project gave me a deeper appreciation for his experiences and helped me better connect with my family's history."

Whether writing about veterans who were war heroes, cared for others, or worked in a supporting role, the students agreed that they learned a lot about their histories, while also developing a deeper appreciation for their service.